


By and Down

by keenan



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, F/M, Magic, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-15 00:49:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 96,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8035813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keenan/pseuds/keenan
Summary: post 6x15 AU - Bonnie is back and changed, trying to handle the new her and mystic falls never ending drama. Kai works to finish what he started despite the after effects of the merge. Both strike an unlikely alliance that will help them find closure.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the numerous tumblr users who asked me to post it here.  
> Canon divergent after 6x15  
> Basically what i would have liked to see happen in the remainder of season 6, instead of the shittiness that we were served

She doesn't know how long she's been standing looking at the mirror. Bonnie studies the features of her reflection, feeling like a small dot in the huge bathroom of the Salvatore mansion.

Two days have passed since she escaped from her prison. _His prison_ , she reminds herself.

48 hours and she likes to think the bits and pieces of her life are slowly clicking back into place. She forces herself to believe it anyway.

She's yet to reconcile her former self with the person that crawled her way out of that other dimension through gritted teeth, bloodied nails and a darkened heart. Not completely the same, not completely alien. But for every new trial she's passed, every new test fate, witches or supernatural karma sent her way, the old skin was peeled off, to reveal a new version, another Bonnie.

She doesn't know what to make of this new skin yet, tiptoes around it, nibbles at its edges, pricks it to measure its thickness. She needs it to be ready again. Ready to help and save and give over and over until it can't any more. Ready to be taken for granted as always.

"Stop it." Bonnie chides at the reflection mocking her in the mirror. "You're back, you're home. You will help Caroline be herself again and everything will go back to normal."

As normal as life can be in Mystic Falls. _As normal as it can be for a witch surrounded by vampires._

She shivers as she feels something stir in her belly, as invisible needles prick all over her body. Bonnie heaves a wary sigh, trying to even her breathing and reclaim control of the black creature contorting inside her, crying for its release. She notices the now familiar dark lines, the price of her freedom, tattoo their way on her wrists, underlining the path of her veins. She closes her eyes, willing her mind to smother those traitorous whispers begging her to just give in already.

_Don't you want to be free at last, to be whole again?_

The cold water she splashes on her face is a calming balm as the tightening of her belly recedes and air pushes its way into her lungs again. Bonnie plasters what she hopes can masquerade as a convincing smile, takes a breath and gets out of the bathroom. The familiar feeling of the Salvatore mansion shrouds her into a tight embrace and her body revels in it as her steps lead her back to the dinner party Elena and Damon have organised for her return.

"You alright there Bon Bon?", Damon sends her a quizzical look, standing near the fireplace as his silhouette dances on the walls. His inquiry is fast echoed by Elena's worried gaze.

"Never better", Bonnie goes to seat beside Elena, grateful as her friend's hand finds hers and squeezes her palm, a tether reminding her that yes she was home again. She eyes the new emptiness of the Salvatore boardroom. "Where did everyone go?"

"Tyler and Matt had to run an errand. Stefan is still chasing after Caroline and we thought it would be a bit rude to bail on our guest of honour, even after said guest disappeared for an extensive restroom break", Damon raises his glass of bourbon toward Bonnie before downing it in one go.

"We thought you'd disappeared on us", Elena adds, quietly assessing her.

"Sorry, I didn't realized I was gone for so long"

"It's okay. You take as long as you need. Just … if you want to talk or anything, we're here for you, okay?", Elena's smile turns sad and Bonnie feels her heart in her throat. She nods before reminding herself to take another needed breath.

"I think I should go, I'm still a little tired.", Bonnie stands and goes to retrieve her jacket. "Messed up sleeping pattern and all. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but I'm driving you home"

"Elena, I'm fine"

"I know, but I'll feel better if I drive you home so let's go", she urges, Damon's car keys in hand.

The drive home is quiet, achingly so. So much that Elena lifts the heavy silence threatening to suffocate the both of them.

"So", she tentatively starts, "you didn't ask about Jer."

Bonnie shrugs, reverting her attention to the window. "There's nothing much to say. He left. Before I came back"

"I know he's my brother, and I'm doing this sister thing of cutting him some slack. But I'm the one who urged him to leave, after he did everything to save you, him and Kai, and I thought-"

"Kai?", Bonnie asks befuddled "What's Kai to do with this?"

"Damon didn't tell you?"

Bonnie shakes her head and Elena sighs, seemingly unsure how to proceed.

"What about Kai, Elena?", Bonnie asks more forcefully, sharpened eyes zeroing on her friend.

Elena hesitates and rakes a hand through her long strands before recounting the merge with Luke, their botched rescue mission, Kai's involvement and Liv's interference. Bonnie's stunned into silence. Conflicting emotions war into her psyche as the sharpened edges of resentment cut at her heart.

"Bonnie?"

She turns to look at Elena, desperately trying to find a kinship with this version of her dead best friend. Only then, does she let herself realize that the sister she so dearly cherished died on that fated bridge two years ago.

The words tumbled on her tongue, heavy, akin to tar in her mouth. "Where were you?"

"What?"

"You and Damon. You said Liv trapped you both away from Kai and Jeremy. So where were you?"

"We were in his room. He felt guilty because the pact was his idea so I went to check up on him, make sure that he was okay"

_While a reformed psychopath was risking his life to bring me back_ , she cannot help but think. The absurdity of the situation dawns on her as giggles start bubbling in her belly, escaping her lips, ripening into a laugh.

"Bonnie", Elena glances at her, worry itched in her features.

The tremors subside, as Bonnie exhales, a disbelieving smile still adorning her lips, "Don't worry Elena, I'm fine. It's just, all of this … so weird … it's just so fucked up, don't you think?"

Elena snorts, nodding, "I think this town has redefined my notion of fucked up a long time ago."

"It sure did", Bonnie acquiesces, eyes back on the window, the familiar lines of her home jutting out of the night sky as they enter her neighbourhood.

She cannot supress her relief when she shuts her front door after hugging Elena good night.

Her body remains still, back pressed against the door for a moment, eyes closed despite the darkness swathing her, trying to even her ragged breathing. When she opens them again, the silence that welcomes her echoes how she feels. Empty.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

"Woop woop woop dum dum Gangnam Style, ehhhh sexy lady"

Kai shimmies around the kitchen of his new home, couple of miles from Whitmore college. He expertly flips another pancake in the frying pan before deposing it on the breakfast table.

He puts scrambled eggs with bacon on the table along with muffins, the French bread he finally managed to bake, some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the coffee he brewed himself thank you very much. A smirk tugs at his lips as he hears the footsteps of his very nimble sex partner from last night make her way toward the tantalizing food. Thank fuck for American colleges and foreign exchange students.

"Are you always this chipper in the morning?"

"Yup, new dawn, new day, new life, so feeling good", he smirks at the roll of her eyes, silently judging him for his ever more pitiful attempts at puns, and winks at her before sitting them at the table.

"Oh god, this is so good" the brunette all but moans as she tastes her breakfast, "where did you learn to cook like that? "

"Prison", he deadpans, smiling innocently at the girl's puzzled look

"Funny", she fires back taking a sip of coffee. "No but seriously, that coffee is the best thing I've tasted all year"

"Sure beats the shit they sell you guys at Whitmore. No wonder college students are all alcoholic, when coffee tastes like that", Kai replies eating the last of his pancakes. He eyes the young woman as she finishes her meal and struts her way to his chair.

She straddles him, and leans in to nibble his earlobe as his hands slide into her panties. "So, I've gotta go but… I don't have any classes tonight." She purrs into his ear, "And there's a party from one of the fraternities. You wanna come?"

"Not tonight, I have some stuff to do. Rain check?", he asks before bending her over the table.

The bout of post breakfast sex and the following shower help clear his mind as he comes back to an empty leaving room, picking his cell to call his sister.

"I thought you said you would leave me alone now that you got what you wanted", Jo's clipped tone welcomes him as he heads toward the kitchen, hunger still gnawing at his stomach.

"Well hello to you too, Josette. Is this any way to treat a future uncle?"

"Shut up Kai. You promised you would leave and stay far away from me and my baby"

"Kidding, Jo. Man, you people sure can be uptight in this town. Ever thought about getting properly laid, sissy? Something tells me Baby Daddy isn't doing the trick"

"I'm gonna hang up now"

"Okay fine", he adds quickly "I just have one question and I'll leave you and Slick Rick alone"

"What is it?"

"Did anyone come back?", he asks; searching for the sweets he's stashed in the cupboard

"What?"

"You heard me. Did anyone come back?" he repeats pointedly

"How do you even know?"

"Oh Josette, no wonder you were never fit to rule the coven, if you don't even know half of the extent of our powers"

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I just want to know if-"

"Why?", Jo cuts more feelingly, "You got what you wanted, Kai, so just go"

Kai rubs the bridge of his nose, trying to control his building annoyance. "I just need to test a theory", is his calm reply, "and the quicker you answer my question the faster I will leave you, your baby and your pathetic excuse of a town in peace."

He can hear her sigh at the other end of the line, his poor little Jo always stuck in between his scheming. He can pinpoint the second she makes up her mind, the decided intake of breath, the renewed steel in her voice. "Yes, Bonnie's back. Now what? Don't you think you've tortured her enough?"

"Hmm, interesting", he muses as he munches on a chocolate bar

"Interesting how?"

"Ah I can't tell you or I wouldn't be able to leave you alone then. Anyway, thanks for the info. And by the way, is your Salesman gonna put a ring on it or you'll just be one of those guilt ridden working single moms?"

"I'm not having this conversation"

"I'll take that as a yes. So when's the wedding?"

"Like I will tell you"

"Oh man, little Josie is in love. How sweet", Kai smirked at her sigh before popping a sweet in his mouth

"I'm nothaving this conversation, Kai"

"Word of advice, run while you still can, Sissy. You and I both know you've always had questionable taste in men. And your baby daddy seems kinda marked for doom anyway"

"Don't you have anything better to do than ruin my life?"

"Oh yeah, I got tons to do. I got into this Game of Thrones thingy, which … Dragon Lady? Hot as fuck. And I'm not religious, which - obviously, but thank god for Netflix and the internet. And needless to say I missed the sex like you couldn't believe and … hello? Hello?"

He is answered by the beeping tone of the line. Kai snorts at his cell before tossing it on the sofa. "Dramatic as ever", he whispers as his thoughts materialize into the pretty features of a petite witch. A petite but very resilient witch.

His grin widens. The hunger grows in response.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

So it goes like this.

Caroline is an actual living fairy tale princess. Or she just believes in those tales so much that she's practically internalized their modus operandi. Bonnie is sure of it now.

Like in the scenario of the most toothache inducing sugary love stories, Caroline's current Prince Charming brought her back from the brink of self-destruction. In a move Bonnie has witnessed countless times on TV but always chalked up to juvenile fantasies, Stefan broke through Caroline's wall of inhumanity and brought her home, offering her the chance of the ever after she's longed for so long.

All was back to normal. With minimal collateral casualties. Which only brought home Caroline's point of handling her vampirism better than Elena ever could. Bonnie wishes she could care again, care about the damage inflicted to the people out of their circle like her younger self would have. Instead, the ever increasing number of victims, sacrificed at the altar of her friends' blood sucking curse, has rendered her almost numb. It's true what they say. The more people die, the more they only become statistics.

Too bad her mind can't be numb now so she can get some much needed sleep.

Bonnie huffs, annoyed with the iron grip that insomnia has held on her sleeping pattern since her return, two weeks ago. She sits up on the bed of her dorm room, as her eyes land on Elena's sleeping form.

Bonnie checks the time. 03 fucking am. _You've got to be kidding me_.

The familiar thrum of expression turns more forceful, searing the walls of her body, as the dark magic pushes angrily against her own nature bound power. She cannot hold both contrary forces, she knows it. The longer she allows both to stay trapped in her body, overwhelming her, the faster their tug of war will tear her apart. Literally.

Her mind goes back to her earlier conversation with Jo, two days ago. She'd been surprised when the doctor sought her out. Surprise turned to apprehension when Jo spoke of her sociopathic brother asking about her return.

And yet. After searching for every possible solution to her magical problem, she had to think of the one she didn't want to acknowledge. Not to mention that little matter of the Salvatore Mother rescue mission Damon has been championing, that relied entirely on her ability to use her magic effectively again.

"Come on Bonnie, time to stop hiding", she mentally cheers herself as she stands and goes to put her clothes on. She silently exits their dorm, not before smiling at Caroline's peaceful features, and makes her way toward the building's entrance.

The autumn chill gently bites at her cheeks as she steps into the night and waits. It isn't long before she senses the thin thread of his magic, pulsating in the air, gently nudging her own.

Bonnie follows the thread, like Ariadne in the labyrinth, going to meet the monster in the darkness. She walks for a long time, the feel of the magic growing stronger, as she stops at the edge of the woods, behind the college campus.

She takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders, before entering the forest. Moonlight shines on, tracing her path and she meanders through tall trees and leaves littered pathways. Her eyes eventually make out the outlines of his tall silhouette as she slowly approaches. As if on cue, she feels the air grow scarce, thicker, the light breeze siphoned into an invisible vortex starting to make breathing harder.

She watches him as he raises a closed fist. Her eyes widen when he opens his palm again and releases the wind he had momentarily trapped. Bonnie inhales sharply, her lungs welcoming the renewed air, as she grimaces against her labored breathing.

"Pretty cool trick, right?", Kai welcomes her with his trademark feral grin as he turns to look at her.

Bonnie huffs in annoyance, "Show off".

She can't help but notice how physically different he seems compared to the other dimension. The scruff makes him look older and reveals some of the darkness his juvenile look in 1994 hid so well.

He snorts, dark eyes assessing. It takes everything in her not to shiver under his scrutiny. His heavy stare slants over her features and traces the soft lines of her body.

"Took you long enough. I almost thought you wouldn't come", Kai takes a couple of steps forward, stopping just short of her personal space.

"Well, just so you know, normal people are in no rush to meet with psychopaths"

"Hey, don't be so mean. It's reformed psychopath", Kai corrects, his features shaping into mock hurt, "Didn't they tell you, I have feelings now."

"Yeah? And how's that working out for you", she deadpans

"Not well, at first, but I'm a resourceful man and I think I got a handle on it.", he replies with an innocent smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"Doesn't prevent you from still being a creeper, I see"

Kai smirks, "You know you should be nicer to me. I mean, what if I didn't merge with Luke? Something tells me you would still be drinking bourbon in that prison."

"Unlike you, I have friends. Friends who would have found a way to rescue me."

Kai barks out a laugh and Bonnie balls her hands into fists. "Right, keep telling yourself that", he taunts, turning her hopefulness to ridicule. "Anyway, a thank you would be nice"

It's Bonnie's turn to let out a mocking laugh, "As if I would ever thank a children killing psycho for anything"

Her voice turns harsher, memories of her time with him coming back to her, "Why should I thank you after everything you put me through?"

Anger burns inside her, tangled with the chafing feel of resentment.

It only grows as Kai snickers.

"Ooh no no no, don't play victim with me. You're the one who landed the first blow. You're the one who killed me and left me for dead, while you and Damon tried to leave me stuck in that hell. If it wasn't for me you and his loser ass would still be traipsing around in there wallowing in your misery."

"There was no way I was letting a killer out onto this world"

"Well seems like you didn't put that much thinking into your plan cause whoops still here."

"Go to hell, Kai", Bonnie lets out through gritted teeth, as her magic sharpens, exhuming the rage she hasn't let out since she came back.

"Already been there", he fires back in a sing song tone, before chuckling. "Ah Bonnie, always the selfless one. No wonder you couldn't last one minute in that hell"

Bonnie flings her hand toward him; magic ready to tear through his limbs but Kai only sidesteps the blow. It goes to hit the tree behind him, tearing through the trunk, twisting it inside out.

She's about to hit him again when he catches her wrist in his hand, pulling her further into him. His magic shrouds her but her own power pushes back and she feels the wind turn more forceful as both forces collide against each other. She realizes then how much power he holds, she feels the friction of his energy against hers right into her very bones, electricity coursing through veins, licking at the light brown skin.

"Sorry", he says and she cannot reign on her surprise at the softness in his voice. He stares at her, eerily calm, while his magic only neutralizes hers but does not strive to overwhelm it.

"I shouldn't have said that", he continues, almost sheepish.

She searches his eyes, looks for that familiar cruelty, that lust for violence he revels in. She only finds something akin to admiration.

"Let go of my hand, Kai", she whispers, glaring at him

"Only if you don't try to burn me to a crisp after that" he smiles cheekily, eyebrows raised in question.

Bonnie nods and Kai disentangles his fingers from her wrist. She takes a step back, trying to make sense of the feeling churning her belly. That sense of loss only alleviated with the soft tingling embracing her, the remnants of Kai's power, lapping at her own.

"You haven't talked to anyone about it, right?"

"About what?"

"The lack of sleep, the inability to breathe, the feeling of suffocating around people… The resentment. You should let the anger out or you're going to drive yourself mad."

Bonnie crosses her arms, a makeshift shield against his words, "You don't know me"

"Maybe. But I know what you went through.", Kai shrugs noncommittally. His eyes sharpen and Bonnie bristles at the cold fury lurking behind them, "Eighteen years, remember?", he adds pointing at himself.

His words find an echo in the whirlwind of emotions raging through her, but she refuses to acknowledge their effect. "You deserved it. You killed your family", she replies stubbornly

"No one deserves that. And are you really going to judge me after everything your friend Damon did? Which includes killing a pregnant woman, by the way. That's a bit too hypocritical Bonnie, even for you. Besides, thanks to my coven, I know have a conscience, so I'm stuck with this guilt anyway."

Bonnie snickers, "Serves you right." Kai only rolls his eyes in response.

She lets the silence settle before meeting his stare again, voicing the question she feared the answer to.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you risk your life to save me?", Bonnie asks and she promptly rues her need for honesty when Kai's only reply is a rueful grin; his eyes – a mixture of softness and hunger – meeting hers.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Three simple words shouldn't have that effect on her. And yet, her traitorous body betrays her, faltering features revealing disbelief, enough for him to notice. She shakes her head as if to unwind the spell his answer has put on her. God she hates him, hates how it is so easy for him to unsettle her, push her from her axis, make her lose her carefully crafted balance.

Bonnie feels him move closer, much too close, his warmth trapping her and she looks up. He's not grinning anymore. Instead, he's studying her, head tilted to the side, trying to decipher the enigma she seems to be to him.

She watches as he slowly lifts his hand, and shivers as he traces a finger on the line of her collarbone, carefully assessing her features, monitoring her reaction. She closes her eyes, cursing against the weak resolve of her body before steeling herself. When she opens them, she focuses her magic into the precise spot his finger touches her skin. She sends a bolt of electricity through it, effectively stinging him.

Kai hisses against the unexpected pain, and Bonnie cannot supress the satisfaction flaring in her chest, smug smirk firmly placed on her lips, when he effectively removes his hand. She forces herself not to dwell on the aching warmth in her belly, mourning the loss of contact.

Kai takes a step back, offering a predatory smile. He nods and puts his hands in his pockets, waiting.

"Can we talk business now", Bonnie asks, standing taller.

"I'm all ears"

She carefully chooses her words, not to let him get an opening to bargain for more than she can give.

"Damon's mother is trapped in one of your prison worlds. In 1903", she says, scrutinizing his face for a reaction, something she could use against him.

Knowing Kai; she is not so lucky. He merely shrugs, "And this concerns me how?", he asks, acting bored.

"We'd like to rescue her, get her out of the prison, and…", she pauses, "we need your help"

Kai raises his eyebrows in mock horror, "But only evil people get stuck there. You're not suggesting I'd release a criminal into your world, are you? What if she's killed entire towns or, gasp, murdered pregnant women?"

Bonnie internally cringes at his faultless logic, echoing the reservations she had already voiced and that Damon had merely shrugged off. "It's a risk we're willing to take"

Kai snorts, "How's your moral high horse now? Not so high it seems"

Bonnie swallows the bitter taste of guilt and glares at him, "Are you willing to help or not?"

He pretends to think the matter through, hand stroking his chin. "Depends. What's in it for me?"

And here we go, she thinks.

"I have something you want", she resolutely states.

Kai grins, "You have a lot of things I want"

If looks could kill, he would have been dead on the spot. Bonnie stifles the urge to send another bolt of lightning in his direction and calmly replies, "Help us with the rescue mission and I will give you my expression magic"

"Oh, so that was that dark thing hissing under your skin? That's what got you out isn't it? That witch's magic. What was her name again?"

"Qetsiya"

"Qetsiya. Powerful witch apparently"

"All the more reason you should accept my offer", Bonnie replies, trying hard not to show her growing impatience.

Kai rakes as hand into his spiky hair and meets her probing gaze. "No"

"What?"

"I don't know whether to feel insulted or … well, insulted, Bonnie. I thought you at least knew me better than that. My services do not come cheap."

"And you think expression magic is cheap?"

"Yup. You're asking me to go against the rules of the prison worlds to help people I couldn't care less about. You have to offer me better than that". He punctuates his reply with raised eyebrows, challenging.

Bonnie crosses her arms, meeting his stare head on. "And what would – better than that – mean exactly?"

"Well, you are right on one account. I'm very interested in your expression magic. However, I'll take it as advanced payment; take that as a show of good faith. Then you'll give me what I want."

"And what is it?"

"Your help. To get revenge on my father."

Bonnie is startled into a disbelieving laugh. "I'm not killing anyone for you"

Kai smirks, "Who said anything about killing?"

She looks at him, brows furrowed. Her mind goes back to all the innocent people that have fallen victim to her friends' streak of violence. Only statistics, she reminds herself. "What do you have in mind?"

Kai's grin feels like a defeat. "All in due time."

Bonnie steps forward, plastering a fake sweet smile on her lips, belying her frustration, "Tell me now", she orders

"No"

She treads closer, under his watchful eyes, and stops a breath from him, craning her neck up to level him with a glare. "Look, I am willing to help, but if you do not tell me what I'm getting myself into, I'll gladly let Damon rip your head off."

Kai snickers, shaking his head, "And I'd love to see him try. Been awhile since I killed somebody. Think of it, I don't think I've ever killed a vampire". His eyes darken a far cry from his usual greyish blue, "Bravado can only take you so far, Bonnie."

"Then we have no deal", she decides, turning to leave.

He stops her with a hand catching the crook of her elbow, slowly bringing her back to face him again. His eyes find hers, his warmth swathing her, like a blanket. She crosses her arms, eyebrow raised.

Kai rolls his eyes, "Alright. Tell you what. Meet me at my place tomorrow night, and I'll tell you of my plan. And then you decide if you're in or not. Final offer."

Bonnie mulls his words, weighing on her next move.

"Come on, I'll even cook you dinner in memory of our time passed over there", he coaxes sweetly.

Bonnie huffs her annoyance before nodding reluctantly. "Do you want your advance payment, now?" she asks, hoping he could at least unburden her of the expression magic.

"I'll take some of it now, yes" he acquiesces

She frowns, incredulous, "Why some?"

"But for the same reason you want to get rid of it of course", he drawls, nonplussed. "I have to be sure it doesn't affect me like it's hurting you"

Bonnie's eyes are wide and angry. So much so that Kai takes a step back, palms raised, placating. "Now, now, you are the one who took me for a fool. I just played along. And this is supposed to help you, remember?"

Her only reply is to shove her right hand forward, palm up toward him. Kai moves to meet her halfway, his fingers wrap around her wrist and Bonnie supresses a shiver at the electricity running through her skin with the simple contact.

She watches as Kai takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and focuses on the task at hand. Her eyes study the lines of his face, one of the rare moments she allows herself to.

"This might hurt a bit", he warns and she can feel the sting of a burn skittering through her arm, traveling down to her belly, searing. The pain comes quick, tearing through her, and Bonnie grimaces, as she holds onto Kai, lest she falls.

"It's almost over", she hears him whisper, and as if on cue, it recedes as quickly as it comes.

"You alright?" Kai asks, balancing her in his arms. Bonnie nods, forehead against his chest, trying to even her breathing. The dark magic is less potent, still stirring inside her but less forceful. She disentangles herself from him and moves back.

She watches his hands as familiar dark veins temporarily travel up his arms, disappearing under the sleeves of his jacket. Her eyes dart up to his face, and a smile threatens his lips as he takes a sharp intake of breath seemingly swallowing the piece of expression he siphoned from her.

"Hmm, tastes different", he comments

"The magic is different", she supplies, laconic. She raises her eyebrows in question. He smiles and nods. He'll be fine.

Their deal agreed upon, Bonnie turns to leave.

"Are we still up for tomorrow night", she hears him ask as her steps lead her away from him.

"Seems like it", she throws behind her back.

She feels his eyes, heavy on her, during the entire walk home.

xxxoOoxxx


	2. Chapter 2

"So you're telling me that you met him. All alone. At night. In the freaking woods?", Caroline's wide baby blues threaten to pop out of her face as she stares befuddled at her witchy best friend studying different dresses laid on her bed.

Their dorm corridor bustles with the usual chatter of students, snippets of conversations seeping through their room. Bonnie shushes her with a hand before locking their door. She goes to retrieve a leaf of sage from her drawer. She sets it on fire and lets it burn, its smoke filling the room.

"Ever heard of vampire hearing?", Bonnie chides as Caroline rolls her eyes.

"And can you remind me why you don't want Elena and Damon in on the information"

"Because I don't know what we might get into and I really don't need anyone acting crazy before we have a plan. Remember how Damon gets when he doesn't get his way"

"Point taken", Caroline huffs. "But still, I don't like this. The guy is dangerous and not only did you meet him in the middle of the night but you're going to have dinner with him. At his place!? Seriously!?"

Bonnie raises an eyebrow, "Caroline, really?"

"Fine, I know I'm sounding like a hypocrite, having played Klaus bait and all, but Bonnie, it's not safe"

Bonnie heaves a weary sigh before plopping next to her friend on the bed. She gathers her hands into her own, unable to stifle her smile when she notices her blonde friend pouting. "I know what I'm getting into, Care. And I know he won't hurt me."

"How do you know that?"

"Because if he wanted to, he would have done it the moment I came back."

"So what, you just expect me to let you be Kai bait now?"

Bonnie snorts and nudges Caroline with her elbow. It isn't long before a reluctant smile tugs at her friend's lips, chasing the clouds that gathered in her eyes. "I'll play Kai bait if I have to. And it's only for tonight anyway."

"You call me as soon as you get out of there", Caroline orders, stern eyes meeting Bonnie's

"Scout's honor"

"Seriously?" Caroline deadpans, earning another giggle from her friend.

"So", Bonnie goes back to her bed and lifts two dresses. "Blood red or virgin white?"

"Virgin white, since you're playing sacrificial lamb. He won't know what hit him", Caroline smirks before adding, "So what's that plan with Kai anyway?"

"Well, when Damon and Elena first tried to bring me back, they used Liv's magic, her blood, the ascendant and Bennett blood"

"So you don't actually need Kai." Caroline said echoing her thoughts. "You only need the ascendant to make it work"

Bonnie nods "I think so. Hopefully if all goes well, we won't need much of his help."

"And what then? We'll just let him roam free", Caroline asks

Bonnie contemplates her friend's question, her thoughts quietly wandering through the thread of memories of the last 3 years, or was it 4. The Katherine episode, the Klaus one, the Originals, Silas and Qetsiya, the Travellers. The most dangerous ones roaming free as Caroline forgot to point out.

The dust hasn't settled yet on their past actions, on this never ending nightmarish twilight zone they were forced into. They were just kids, she was just a kid. Way too young to have survived through the pain of a thousand lifetimes, losing a piece of herself each time she had to compromise and redefine her notion of right and wrong in the name of balance, the lines between them blurring into one big convoluted grey shadow, clinging to her conscience.

And now there was Kai. Freely wandering as well, the very reason she painfully has to remind herself how to breathe, the reason she has been enduring the painful stretch of long, restless, cold nights. The very reason comfort has long become a mystery to her, having crawled out of her skin since her 1994 ordeal.

"I don't know, and to be honest I don't care" Bonnie replies, tone a tinge too sharp, enough for Caroline to pay heed.

The sound of sudden screaming voices, loud chanting coming from the corridor, force its way through the quiet of the room, assaulting her senses and Bonnie freezes. Panic floods through her, like a wave threatening to drown her. Her hands go limp, the dress falling to the ground.

She feels more than hears Caroline quickly rush toward her, a hand on her back, travelling up and down, trying to calm her. "Bonnie, it's ok. It's just stupid frat boys. It's ok, just breathe"

Bonnie tries to do just that, focusing on returning her breathing to normal, hiccupping against her wild thumping heart. Her mind clings to Caroline's voice, an anchor slowly soothing her.

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here", Caroline makes Bonnie sit on the bed, rubbing her back as she tries to exhale the crippling fear away. It takes a moment before she relaxes, shoulders sagging against the pain being released.

"Since when?", Caroline's words tear through the now heavy silence of the room

"Since I came back", Bonnie lets out, breathless.

"Dammit, Bonnie", she can feel Caroline's reproachful eyes burn on her temple but she is too tired to think of anything besides bringing air to her lungs. She is grateful for her friend decision to postpone her lecture for another time, as Caroline only pulls Bonnie into her side, engulfing her into a hug.

"Please don't tell anyone, not yet anyway", Bonnie all but begs and she feels her friend's embrace tighten around her.

"Only if you promise to let me help your stubborn Bennett ass" is her friend's reply and Bonnie blurts out a shaky laugh, tremors wracking her body, like the sobs she won't let out. The morning sun tickles her cheek and she revels in its warmth meddled with her friend's cadenced breathing, calming her, lulling her into a false sense of peace.

Peace, may it be in Whitmore or Mystic Falls, never lasts long. Her phone starts ringing, startling the both of them. Caroline goes to check it, only to huff in annoyance.

"Damon", she says, answering Bonnie's questioning eyes. Bonnie nods, extending a hand as Caroline hands her the phone before settling next to her.

Bonnie takes one last calming breath and presses the answer button. "Finally, what took you so long?", comes Damon's already demanding voice.

She sighs, "Hello to you too, Damon"

"Is it done?" he asks not missing a beat. She notices Caroline frown, anger radiating from her. Bonnie takes her hand in hers, shaking her head.

"Yes, Kai agreed. He'll contact us tomorrow to tell us when to start"

"Good." Bonnie's about to hang up when he adds, softer, "Thanks, by the way. I know how hard it was for you, so thank you."

"Call you tomorrow." She doesn't let him answer as she cuts the call short, tossing the cell on her bed.

"Always the D-Bag I see", Caroline sneers and Bonnie shrugs.

"Just Damon being Damon".

Her eyes dart back to the short white dress. She turns to Caroline, "I think I'm going to need some shoes. And I kinda need to get out of closed rooms. Retail therapy?"

Caroline's lips mirror her smile, "Now that's what I like to hear. At what time is you dinner?".

"Eight. Why?"

The blonde vampire stands, holding out her hand to Bonnie "Come on, let's make sure Kai forgets his name when he sees you"

Bonnie lets out a chuckle, shaking her head, before placing her palm in Caroline's.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

_Cut the lamb into 8 pieces and flatten with your fist. Then toss with salt, pepper, and the garam masala._

"And the what now?", Kai scratches his head as he watches chef Jamie Oliver explain his recipe on his iphone. The more the British Chef repeats for the umpteenth time how easy tagine is, the more Kai wants to skin puppies. He pauses the video, checking if he bought that fucking garam masala when he's startled by the doorbell ringing.

He wipes his hands on his apron and goes to open the door. His face lights up in a cheeky smile as he finds Jo standing outside.

"Hey! Look who finally decided to visit?", he welcomes, gesturing for her to come in. She seems to hesitate for a moment, eyeing him warily. The reason of her visit seem to overweigh her reservations however as she steps in and watches as he closes the door.

"You have flour all over your face", she states, eyes questioning

"Ah yeah, I've been baking", he answers before heading back towards the kitchen, Jo in tow. "Got a hot date, tonight, if you catch my drift"

"Spare me the details", Jo sighs before stopping short at the kitchen's entrance while Kai goes to check on his dessert in the oven.

"So to what do I owe this sisterly visit?", he cheerfully asks as he takes the oven gloves off and goes to slice spring onions and chili on the cutting board. He's noticed Jo hasn't moved from her position, cautiously eyeing him.

Always the most discerning one, his Josette. The thought makes him smile with a tinge of pride.

"I'm not having twins", she states, tone curt.

He snorts, picking a lemon from a nearby bowl. He cuts it in half in a swift motion.

"A bit too early to know don't you think?" He starts finely chopping the lemon, as dear Jamie indicated; brows furrowed in concentration as he cuts slim even slivers out of the yellow plump skin. "You're at like – what? – your third week, fourth week tops".

At long last, Jo steps into the room, and goes to stand across from him, the kitchen table as only barrier separating them. Anger radiates from her, tickling his skin. "So that's why you're still here? To make sure I don't have twins, right? What are you going to do then, butcher them like you did our family?"

Kai sighs and puts the knife on the table. He meets her heated stare with a roll of his eyes. "Why do you always think the worst of me?"

"Because nobody's ever seen the best of you, Kai." Jo fires back, seething. "Is there even a best of you?"

"Oh now you're just being silly", he picks the knife and resumes chopping. "Look, I couldn't care less if you had twins, alien number 4 or the second coming in your belly. I'm staying because I'm helping your Baby boo's friend."

He disposes of the lemon in a plate, before facing her, "If you got a problem with that, take it up with the sperm donor and his vampire BFF. And if he didn't tell you about it, then I suggest couple's counseling or better yet, raising the kid on your own."

Jo seems to wilt under his intent stare, flinching at his cutting words. Kai feels the serrated edge of something dangerously close to guilt tug at his gut and he frowns against the pang it induces in the whole his heart is re-growing into.

"Sorry, I … Want something to drink? " he offers as an apology and Jo nods, deflated, taking a seat at the table. He retrieves two beers from the fridge, turns the oven off, and goes to sit beside her. They drink in silence, the sweet aromas of the food cooking swirling around them.

"Hey, do you know what guram masala is?", Kai asks, breaking the quiet.

Jo chugs the last of her beer before replying, "It's garam masala. Some type of Indian spice. You can find it at the Chinese shop near our neighborhood"

"There's a Chinese shop near your house?", Kai asks befuddled

"Oh shut up", Jo's lips tip up at Kai's snort. "Smells good by the way"

"Yeah, I had a lot of time on my hands these last few years. Got pretty good at almost everything", Kai stares at her, his smile belying the dark veil clouding his eyes. He watches as she averts her eyes, silently reliving that fateful night, result of their father's abuse.

He snickers as he swallows another swig of beer and Jo turns to him, eyebrow raised.

"Nothing, it's just funny."

"What's funny", Jo asks

"Of all the survivors, you're the one who got out of it ok. You're the one who actually got out of the coven and got to have a life"

"I ran away. I let Luke and Liv survive their way there, all alone", Jo's eyes turn distant, and she lets out a weary sigh before adding "I let them be groomed so one day one could kill the other, just like us."

Something constricts inside him, reacting to her words. He stifles a frown before plastering a smirk on his lips. "Well, more like devour", Kai stands and grabs their empty bottles. "Think of it of as an accelerated version of the circle of life." He throws them in the trash before opening the oven and picking the baked pie.

He upraises his work and nods, satisfied. He selects 3 ripe tomatoes, sets them on the counter and starts chopping. Jo's eyes follow his every movement, but he pays her no heed, trying not to dwell on these alien feelings that fog his mind when he has too much time to think, leafing through the pages of his past, his actions starting to haunt him. Sometimes he even tries to pass off the bloody memories as someone else's atrocious stories, just to make that nagging throbbing, gnawing at that dreaded space between his left ribs, stop.

So, he chooses to focus on Jamie's weird British like instructions instead. _Roughly chop the tomatoes_ , Jamie says. Whatever the hell that means, he thinks.

"You're still going to get your revenge, aren't you", Jo asks

"Yup"

"Are you going to kill him?"

Kai shrugs and goes to pick a pan.

"And Liv"

He pops a strawberry in his mouth, munching on the fruit, and his lips turn red. "What about that brat?"

Jo goes to stand before him, "Are you going to hurt her as well?", she asks, tone verging on that of a warning

Kai rolls his eyes, and picks the bottle of olive oil, pouring a trickle on the heating frying pan. He places the lamb in it and surveys as it sizzles against the oil. "I don't care about her but if she tries to kill me again, she won't make it out alive this time, new feelings or not", he replies, tone harsher than he would have liked.

"And the coven?"

Kai exhales his annoyance, meeting her sister's inquiring gaze, "What part of – I only want to hurt _him_ – don't you understand exactly?"

Jo nods, seemingly satisfied. "I brought you something", she announces.

He watches as she nabs an envelope from her bag, setting it on the counter, near his cutting board. The warmth in her eyes seeps into his skin, unnerving him, and as if on cue she offers a coy smile before leaving the house.

Always the most discerning, indeed.

It's only when he hears the front door close that he allows himself to read the two words printed on the white paper.

Wedding invitation.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

In and out. In and out. And breathe.

Bonnie steels herself as she stares at the front door. The house is no Salvatore mansion, but although inconspicuous, it is large enough for her to fear what Kai did to call it his own. She shivers at the light breeze caressing her skin, and debates on taking of her black stilettos and running back to the safety of her dorm.

Fear tightens her belly and the dark magic awakens, searing her. As much as she is loath to admit it, it reassures her, that now familiar force painfully contorting inside her, as she knows that if it comes to a head she can let go and let it consume her. She can use it to hurt him like he did her in that prison.

Bonnie reminds herself of her purpose here. Lie and smile and get what she needs from him. She reminds herself that she's strong, the strongest of them all. That she chose to live. That day of never ending 1994, in that garage, smoke filling her lungs, she chose to live. She'll be damned if Kai won again this time.

Her knuckles rasp on the door and it isn't long before he opens it. And Bonnie is pretty sure that Kai actually forgets his name when he lays his eyes on her. 10 points to Caroline.

"You look gorgeous", he lets out almost breathless. He cleaned up as well, black shirt, black pants and a loosened dark red tie, a devil not so in disguise.

She offers a tight smile as she meets his stare and he replies with an inviting grin, opening the door wider, letting her in.

Here goes nothing, she thinks.

Her eyes roam the house, noticing how modernly decorated albeit under furnished it is, walls bare of any semblance of human presence. There's that distinctive warmth though, that quiet thrum in the air, traces of witchcraft brushing against her like a thought against a sigh, unique to every dwelling a witch or warlock lives in.

It reminds her of home, of Grams, of her grimoire and it soothes the tightening in her belly. But what tickles her senses is the mouthwatering scent emanating from what would be the kitchen.

"This way", his voice, always so damned soft around her, interrupts her study of his house, as she turns to follow him to the large living room. She can't reign on her stomach, hearing its muffled groan, in response of the tantalizing aromas, taunting her stern resolve.

"Wine, beer; … think you're more of a wine person, no?", Kai offers as he sits her at the table.

"Water", Bonnie replies still inspecting her surroundings. Her eyes meet his when he snorts.

"You do know that I have no intention of hurting you, right? You should try to relax, enjoy the dinner"

"It's kind of hard to relax when you're around the guy who stabbed you twice and terrorized you for days", Bonnie replies, tone curt. She catches his features falter for a quick second before he answers with a tight smile, "Water it is."

He places her beverage in front of her and goes to bring the first dish. He disposes the plate before her and takes a seat across from her, gesturing at the food, "Apple and pecan salad, hope you like. Dig in; I'd rather discuss our arrangement with a full stomach"

Bonnie does just that, and inwardly curses at the delectable taste of the food, remembering how surprisingly skilled he was. She feels Kai's eyes on her as she savors the meal, while she looks everywhere but at him.

The clang of silverware against glass is the only sound complimenting the awkward silence. Bonnie starts to feel restless under Kai's stare and his unusual lack of conversation.

As if reading her mind, he breaks the silence, "Still having problems adapting to the real world?", he asks, picking his glass and taking a sip of red wine.

Bonnie swallows her food, inhaling a breath. She steels herself and at long last meets his eyes. "I'm fine", she replies before reaching for the water. The liquid temporarily calms the churning in her belly. "Can we talk about rescuing Damon's mom, instead?"

Kai's lips contort into a caricature of a smile before taking another gulp of wine. "I checked the Gemini grimoires and the coven's archives. It might be more complicated than you expect."

"Complicated how", Bonnie's eyes narrow against what she thinks is another curve ball he's just thrown at her

"Well, my coven is very thorough. And they made it as such that each prison world functions independently from the others. Each prison has its dedicated ascendant, it's unique way of getting in and out", Kai explains

"I'm pretty sure I was in the 1903 prison when I got out, so by your theory, it shouldn't have worked", Bonnie challenges, glaring at him which only elicits a wan smile from Kai

"Yes, but your escape happened under exceptional circumstances. I was almost dying, and as leader of the coven, if I die, the coven dies, the rest of my family dies and the prison worlds collapse. I assume you got out as Jo was healing me. So you just got lucky you went through a very tight loophole or you would have ended up trapped in 1903. And trust me; you wouldn't have liked it there."

Kai's eyes sharpen and Bonnie releases a slow breath. So much for the get rid of Kai and do it ourselves plan. She follows his eyes and glances down at her hands, only then noticing her almost white knuckles as she had balled them into fists. She unclenches her fingers, and he wordlessly pushes the bottle of wine toward her. He stands and picks their plates, heading toward the kitchen.

Bonnie takes the bottle and pours herself a glass of wine before taking a sip and reveling in the slight burn searing her throat. It has the desired soothing effect. It isn't long before Kai returns, main dish in hand and sets a plate before her.

"Lamb tagine with pan fried aubergine and cumin crunch", he announces, almost boasting, a gleeful smile adorning his lips as he takes his seat. Bonnie doesn't wait for his invitation to taste the tantalizing food this time, letting the mixture of aromas explode in her mouth as she mulls over his words.

"So how does the 1903 prison work", she asks between mouthfuls of tagine.

"Well", Kai swallows some wine before answering her, "you know how it is with magic, it evolves, it adapts, it gets upgraded with time. A bit like technology, which is pretty funny if you think about it-"

"The point, Kai", Bonnie cuts bitingly, glaring at him

He huffs a breath, "the spell created for the 1903 prison was less potent than the one for my prison. It needed more ingredients to make it as powerful. Meaning that to get in or out, in addition to the ascendant and Parker blood, you also need to draw power from a celestial event."

"You've got to be kidding me"

Kai shrugs, finishing his food. "Not my fault if their magic was dated."

He pauses, swirls the wine in its glass and takes a sip, "Or maybe they really wanted to make sure Mama Salvatore never got out", he adds, punctuating his words with raised eyebrows.

"And how do we get the ascendant?", Bonnie asks, ignoring the silent question he didn't voice out loud.

"I've got a lead on its whereabouts. Should be able to get it in a few days."

Bonnie nods as she pushes her plate away from her. She thinks of Damon, how on pins and needles he already was, pacing like a lion in a cage over his mother. She knows he won't stop until he gets her back and won't care how many bodies will litter his path to her.

"Don't you want to know what Mama Salvatore did?" , Kai asks and Bonnie grits her teeth, landing hard eyes on him.

"What do you want from me? What's your fee?" she deflects instead.

Kai smirks, but she senses something shift in his demeanor, the tug of his lips never reaching his eyes, traces of annoyance, tinged with anger, staring back at her. "I think it's time for dessert"

She huffs a disbelieving breath, staring at him as he repeats the now familiar action, picking their plates, returning to the kitchen.

Bonnie feels anger build inside her; the more he treats her like a puppet, pulling strings here and there to get her in line. Using her like everyone else already does.

It takes him longer to come back and he presents her the enticing dessert, setting it before her, taunting her. He goes back to his seat and picks his glass, finishing his wine in one gulp. She watches as he starts eating, slowly munching on the food, and for the first time since her arrival, he doesn't spare her any glance.

Bonnie realizes then that whatever she had said, she'd irritated him, and it sends a delicious thrill coursing through her veins. She clings to it, feeding off of it. "What's going on? You're not telling me the pretentious name of your dessert?", she lets out, offering a sweet cherry smile.

Kai levels her with a glare, annoyingly eating while staring at her. She feels his eyes on her as she slowly pushes her untouched plate to the side, before meeting his stare head on as she crosses her arms.

Bonnie watches with a twisted sense of satisfaction as he eyes her plate. "Do you know how long it took me to cook all of this?", he asks, still starring at her untasted food.

"Does it look like I care?", she replies, tone razor sharp.

He takes another mouthful, swallows and smiles, wolfish, eyes hard and Bonnie feels the finger of a shiver run down her spine.

"I want to build a prison for my father. A very specific prison. And you will help me do it.", he states, leaning back into his chair.

Bonnie narrows her eyes at him, "And what makes you think I can help you?"

"Because your Grams helped imprison me. The Gemini coven cannot create a prison for one of their own, not with our blood. So we needed another potent bloodline to seal the specific spell. That's where the Bennetts come in."

"Why don't you just trap him in your prison then?"

"Because he will kill himself and he doesn't deserve that mercy", he lets out the words calmly, almost soothingly and Bonnie decides she doesn't like this seemingly subdued version of Kai. His controlled calm is akin to that eerily silent moment before a kill, the anticipation of pain, the muffled cry before an agonizing scream.

She exhales her relief when he offers her his signature charming smile, and he pours himself more wine before raising his glass to her. "So do we have a deal?" he asks expectantly

Bonnie stands, pushing her chair back, satisfied with his surprise at her sudden departure, " We have a deal", she states and she's about to leave before a thought worms its way in her mind, stopping her in her tracks.

She turns to him, meeting his questioning eyes, "Why couldn't you just tell me all this last night? Why make me come all the way here?"

He shrugs, taking a gulp of red, before facing her. "I wanted to apologize"

This time she reigns on her features, not letting him on her surprise.

"Apologize for what?"

"For everything I've done to you there", he carefully states. Bonnie watches him, his annoyingly calm posture, swirling that damned wine as if sorry could atone for everything.

Bonnie slowly approaches the table, setting her hands on the polished wood, leaning forward, "Oh, you mean when you shot a crossbow through my stomach, and then strangled me, and terrorized me, and then tied me up like a fucking animal, stabbing me again, leaving me alone there"

The beast awakes inside her and its cry flows through her, burning, scorching. Bonnie welcomes the pain, her anger seeping out of her skin, fueled by the seemingly remorseful look on Kai's face clashing with the memories of her time there, his taunting youthful face mocking her.

"You killed me first", Kai points out, frowning, like a child evading a lecture.

Bonnie is startled into a laugh, verging on hysterical, "because you're a fucking crazy psycho who deserved to rot there"

It's Kai's turn to bare his teeth, his shark like smile belying the storm raging behind his eyes, "She's a ripper", he says gleefully

Bonnie closes her eyes, "Shut up"

She hears Kai slowly stand, his chair pushing against the tiles, enunciating every word, his voice softly taunting, "The woman you're trying to get out, for your precious Damon, she's a ripper. She's killed 3000 people, and those are the ones we know about. And she will kill more when you help her escape."

Bonnie opens her eyes again, as Kai lets out a bitter laugh before finishing the rest of his wine in one swig, "I said shut up Kai", and she feels more than sees the dark poison bleed freely through her.

The glass shatters in his hands and he laughs even louder before setting his blazing eyes on her.

"You killed me first. You were going to leave me behind after 18 years in that prison.", he states, voice deceptively still. "18 years. Not 4 months. 18 years. And I'm here apologizing to you", he runs an angry hand in his hair, shaking his head, snickers escaping his lips.

"I said shut up", she achingly lets out as the dark magic manically scratches against her skin and cracks her bones, demanding to get out, ready to feed on the upcoming chaos.

Bonnie closes her fist and the table breaks in half, a hullabaloo of metal clanging against metal and glass shattering surround them. In one flick of his fingers, Kai sends the remains of the table crashing against the opposite wall. He slowly approaches Bonnie, smile wide, eyes turned black as tar, "You want to hurt me? Go on then.", he whispers, challenging.

Bonnie feels the pressure of a thousand arrows pulled taught against the bow of her magic, her hand the only string keeping them at bay.

"But know this. The only one to blame for being trapped in that prison is you"

Bonnie lets go and she sends him flying against the wall, pinning him there. She clenches her fingers and an invisible spear slashes his skin, tearing through his side, blood dripping from his abdomen.

Her eyes meet his and she blinks. He's not fighting back. She feels like she's drowning, as the beast smothers her into surrender; devouring her core.

_Give this to me_ , it orders. _This is mine, give it to me_.

The air suddenly crackles ad booms, white pain tears through the darkened fog of her mind, electricity shocking her into a silent scream and she hears Kai's body forcefully slam into the ground. Bonnie feels her own magic roar, desperately rebelling. Both forces battle inside her, tearing through her flesh.

The plates and silverware start floating in the air, dangerously turning round and round, orbiting around an unseen tornado, slicing against the walls.

She falls to her knees, hands on the floor, trembling from the hurricane wreaking havoc inside her. Her eyes focus on drops of blood, dripping from her nose, staining the white tiles red, and she feels her throat constrict, slivers of oxygen cutting through.

_Mine, mine, mine._

_I'll take what's mine._

_This is mine._

She feels him crawl his way towards her. His hand reaches out, and his fingers curl around her wrist. The beast's lament echoes her own, the expression magic contorting, as it tries to resist Kai siphoning it into his flesh. Bonnie feels the brunt of it leave her body, bleeding out of her skin, and the pain starts receding, infusing life in her limbs.

The floating dishes violently come crashing against the ground.

She coughs as air forces its way into her chest and hiccups, her breathing ragged. She glances toward Kai and watches as his lips turn black. He shudders and stumbles to the ground, out of breath.

They stay still, him lying on his back, her slouched on bended knees, their panting the only sound against the now peaceful silence engulfing the house.

A few wild heartbeats pass and Kai's guffaws tear through the stillness, "God that was awesome"

He turns to look at her, childlike wonder in his eyes, "You are fucking awesome" he states, glee lightening his features.

Bonnie stares at him for a moment before reluctantly blurting out a shaky laugh, her giggles echoing Kai's cackle. They laugh for a long time, releasing the pain away.

She watches as he puts a hand on the wide gash she's carved out on his stomach, his fingers pressing against the jagged flesh. Dark veins travel down to the tips of his hand and he hisses as they burn the wound to an ash colored scar.

Bonnie takes a shaky breath, before trying to stand. She wobbles for a moment, as gravity betrays her, and pulls her back down, limbs burning from exhaustion. She elects to sit on the floor, back against the wall, limp arms by her sides. Her eyes land on the ragged rise and fall of Kai's chest as he stares up at the ceiling.

"I still hate you", she blurts out.

He huffs a snort, "I know.", and chuckles before adding "Maybe a little less though"

She snickers and scans the room for her purse. "I have to call Caroline", she whispers to herself.

"I can drive you home." , he tries to offer, turning to look at her

"You look half dead."

"Point taken", he exhales sharply, painfully

Her second try at standing proves successful and she goes to fish for her purse in the midst of crushed glass, jagged pieces of wood and contorted iron. She locks eyes with him one last time.

"Let me know about the ascendant?"

"Will do"

Bonnie nods and heads out.

The sweet cold midnight air is a healing balm to the fever burning inside her. Bonnie reaches her hand to her head, she pull the pins out of her now messy bun, letting her hair freely tumble down, straight strands swaying in the light breeze. She toes off her stilettos, bending to grab them, and inhales a breath, welcoming the cold feel of concrete under her feet.

She turns to peer at Kai's house, eerily calm as if what occurred a moment ago was a pure figment of her imagination. The sense of lightness, the renewed connection to the elements, core of her nature bound magic, bely that thought. Bonnie stretches a hand forward and feels the whispers of nature brush against her skin, circle and gently push against her nervous energy, timidly rekindling a long lost conversation.

She glances one last time at the door, before stepping into the night, heading home.

She really needs to call Caroline.

Kai's fist hits the tiles of the shower's wall, as cold water trickles between his shoulder blades, and traces its path down his spine.

He grimaces against the delicious ache travelling downwards as flashes of Bonnie, gloriously powerful Bonnie, and yet so fucking fragile Bonnie, invade his mind. That dinner was a thorough exercise in self-control and he's pretty sure he's failed that test.

Two weeks. At least so he can get his hand on that shitty ascendant. He doesn't know how he can survive two weeks without seeing her.

"All in due time, buddy", he whispers to himself.

As expected the shower offers no solace, albeit helping clear his head. He mentally goes through the list of upcoming actions, as he puts on a pair of jeans and a white t shirt. He finishes drying up his hair, tossing the towel on his bed, before picking his car keys and heading downstairs.

A smile tugs at lips when his eyes land on the ravaged living room. He lets out a chuckle as he puts his jacket on and heads out.

The hard lines of his father's features creep through his mind and he feels the monster inside grin in response.

All in due time indeed.

But first, New York.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all mistakes are mine


	3. Chapter 3

The Salvatore living room bleeds red and gold as ribbons of sunlight soak them in warmth. The ghost smell of pancakes and pork rinds come to tickle her nostrils and Bonnie blinks. Muffled sounds of conversations she tuned herself out of whoosh back in, a dissonant cacophony of voices.

She turns to look at the small congregation gathered, her two best friends, each with their own Salvatore brother, and Alaric discussing their next move on the rescue mission plan.

Her silence must have lasted longer than it should when she feels the weight of their eyes on her.

"Bonnie, are you ok?", Caroline, always the most attuned to her moods, voices the silent question filling the room.

"Yeah fine", Bonnie offers a faint smile "Sorry, got a bit distracted there. What were we talking about?"

"When's the next celestial event going to be", Damon answers, his eyes narrowing "Are you sure your witch buddy wasn't playing with us? We still don't know where that man-child is and still no sign of the ascendant."

She shrugs, "Then why don't you call him yourself. I'm really getting tired of being your personal messenger".

"All I'm saying is the little shit is not to to be trusted", Damon offers, placating

"Well duh, it's Kai, but last time I checked he's the one with all the information and the coven leader so if you cannot wait, be my guest, go find him.", Bonnie answers bitingly and Damon nods, chastised.

"Alright, we'll wait for him to contact us, but what are we going to do when we find your mother" Elena says, trying to ease the tension. "Kai said she was a ripper."

"Maybe he's lying", Damon goes to pour himself a glass of bourbon and reclaims his place on the couch near Alaric, "Wouldn't be the first time"

"And what if he's not", Stefan asks, uttering his first words since stepping foot in the mansion. He stands at the entry of the boardroom, his stiff posture attesting of his inner turmoil. "What if she is the Ripper he described?"

The room turns quiet, air now heavy with laden fears and the cumulated toll of their past actions. Bonnie feels oddly detached. The tangled threads of affection, loyalty and duty shred one by one and slip like sand through her fingers. Trying to hold onto them proves more difficult each day.

"We first have to get to her. Then we'll see" Damon answers. He finishes the last of his drink and adds, turning to Bonnie, "Now, what about Kai?"

She meets his probing gaze, brows furrowed, "What about him?"

"How are we going to get rid of him? He's still here and he's a potential threat to all of us. We need him gone"

Bonnie barks out a laugh.

When in doubt, compartmentalize. The Damon Salvatore guide to doing shitty stuff and lifting the weight of any potential guilt through his own twisted logic. The ensuing silence lets her know she's the only one painfully aware of the irony.

"After what he did to you, I figured you'd jump at the chance of getting your revenge", the older Salvatore coaxes, poking at the resentment and bloody memories she's kept coiled within her.

Closure. Maybe it is what she needs.

Kai has taken most of Qetsiya's magic. The remaining dark energy is manageable. She can tear at it and rebuild it, warp it to her will. She will feed off of it to expand her own magic's potency. She can become stronger than she's ever been.

Kai's feral smile settles in her mind. It then morphs into the one full of wonder he offered after their magic joust in his living room.

_You killed me first._

His words keep drumming against her skull like a maddening tambourine and Bonnie frowns against the peculiar sense of kinship the warlock starts to elicit from her.

She forces herself to relive what he did to her, summoning the memento of the mad glint coating his eyes when he stabbed her and left her bloodied. Anything to bury that seed of ambivalence toward him.

"How can we kill him without mass murdering all the rest of the coven, including Jo and Liv?", Alaric asks

"Well, if we trap him back into his prison, he technically won't die and the coven will be safe", Damon pushes further, eyes studying Bonnie.

She knows what's expected of her and she's been ready for it since dragging herself out of that hellish other side. The longer her silence stretches the more their gazes turn demanding. They gently smother her into surrender, like the too tight embrace of an all knowing parent.

_I wanted to apologize. For everything I've done to you there._

Bonnie breaks the silence, "He's trying to build a prison for his father. That'll keep him occupied. If we join Papa Parker's and Liv's magic to mine we can neutralize him. We only need to have the 1903 ascendant and get your mother out of there before we strike."

She can almost touch the collective sigh of relief, a tangible soundless exhale that lifts the heavy blanket of apprehension.

Damon offers a smile she doesn't return.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

The large gold plaque stands out in the middle of the chestnut oak door. It burns gold, chafes at the well versed practitioners, the only inkling that it is no ordinary store. The neighborhood, or Koreatown, segment of 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway as he repeated to himself like a mantra whilst searching for it, is the home to busy little bees that throw him suspicious or sometimes downright belligerent looks, reminding him he doesn't belong here.

Kai leans closer and reads the name on the plaque.

_Vivian Park, Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine._

He lets out a snort, stepping into the shop. The doorbell rings as he enters and glances around the establishment.

_Not bad, not bad at all_ , he thinks, taking in his surroundings.

The shop was an average sized cube, with red brick adorned walls, a grey stone floor that must have cost a fortune just to set up, and floor to ceiling mahogany shelves displaying the history of herbal medicine of all Asia.

"I'll be right there", comes a faint voice from the back of the store. Kai grins.

He doesn't have to wait long before the tall and lean figure of a 40 something fair skinned Asian woman appears. A practiced professional smile curves her lips while dark razor sharp eyes carefully dissect behind the vibrant red rimmed glasses perched on her nose.

The recognition doesn't come at once, he has to count a few increasingly rapid heartbeats before her pupils widen and the air crackles.

"Motherfucker … So it's true. You got out", she welcomes in a breathless laugh.

Kai bows his head in acquiescence, "I forgot how word travelled fast among witches"

"Even faster now, 21st century and all"

"Tell me about it. Who needs magic anymore with today's technology?"

She tilts her head to the left, ruffling the straight black strands cropped into a bob, and peers at him, "Nice scruff. Is it for the new position of coven leader?"

_Indeed, word did travel fast._

"Something like that", Kai smiles and the woman smirks.

Despite her conversational tone, she stays behind the counter, muscles locked in a defensive stance. Kai meets her stare and remembers how deadly she used to be.

And oh so delightfully cruel.

"You do know if I wanted you dead, you wouldn't even be standing now, right? Nice warding spells by the way."

Her stare turns ink black and erases all traces of customary warmth, shedding all pretenses of a smile. They lock eyes and settle in a silent standoff. He hears the door lock itself behind him.

Kai sighs.

He prods his newly acquired beast awake, loosening his leash on it, as its black power floods through his body suffusing the room of its hunger filled and chaos seeking aura. He cocks his head to the side, a youthful smile adorning his lips. The room turns dark and cold and the woman winces, fingers digging into her palms.

"Ugh, I forgot what a show off you were", she huffs.

Kai blinks and sunlight returns, bringing back its warmth.

"So, it's Vivian now?"

She snickers, "Pretty much, since you people are incapable of pronouncing our names. And apparently Vivian is more customer friendly than Soe Yun".

She gestures for him to follow her and turns to the back of the store, Kai's steps echoing hers.

"Ah yeah, I forgot. We're the devils incarnate"

"You guys always were"

They walk through a narrow corridor and enter a larger room.

_That's more like it._

The circular room is a mess, a well-organized mess of dust coated cabinets and shelves, holding bowls filled with rhubarb leaves, pots of devil's claw root and other plants, and piles of ancient looking grimoires, some written in Old Mandarin, others in Latin.

Another stone carved table stands in the opposite corner, over it, jars brimming with green water, frogs eyes and chicken feet swimming in it. A larger jar, placed on the floor, at the foot of the table, holds what Kai recognizes are fresh human body parts.

Soe Yun pushes a stool in his direction and Kai sits on it while she eases herself on a chair across from him.

"Your dad is freaking the fuck out", she informs him, arms crossed, lazily slouching on the chair

"I know", he glances around the room, "he's covered his tracks, I can't find him. Which only means he's enlisting help to put me down", he adds looking at her pointedly

Soe Yun's answering grin tastes like blood. "I couldn't believe it when he told me you got out. I told him I'd help but we both know he never really trusted me. Besides, I always side where the magic is darkest"

Kai nods, "That you do."

"So how did you get out?", Soe Yun asks, eyes sparkling with queries, clashing with the carefully crafted professional appearance of a business suit clad, cashmere jumper wearing woman with seemingly expensive taste.

"Oh you know, went out, found a key, unlocked the door, got out. Basic stuff"

"Oh come on. We've all been buzzing like crazy since we heard. You got out, you merged and now you lead one of the most fucked up covens in America. I have so many questions. Do we need to get ready to welcome back all the crazies your family locked up? Will your coven commit collective suicide to prevent you from slaughtering them all? I can't even sleep at night from all the excitement"

"No wonder you look like shit"

"Oh fuck you"

Kai guffaws; "I need some of your expertise"

Soe Yun sidles forward, slivers of pearly whites flashing through. "Dark magic?"

"Yup"

She inhales sharply, and swallows the remaining traces of black energy emanating from Kai, floating in the air. Her soft contented hum tangles with the thrumming quiet, "How did you get yours? It's so … pure. Mine is not as delicious. I always have to add something to feed it and even with that it's not nearly as potent as yours."

Kai grins, "That's because I got it straight from the source"

"I hate you so much right now"

He shrugs, "how about that help"

"What do you need?"

"Three tiny little things." It's Kai's turn to lean forward, features turning shark like and Soe Yun frowns. The air grows thicker. "That book of spells you stole from my coven 18 years ago, the grimoires you have on Expression and most important, the location of the missing witches that escaped my coven and sided with my father."

Soe Yun whistles slowly, "You do mean business. What are you going to do to these poor misguided souls."

"I'll make them an offer they can't refuse"

She rolls her eyes "That quote expired 20 years ago."

Kai shrugs, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, I've been having a bit of trouble with the pop culture references lately"

Soe Yun snickers before upraising him. He can almost see the pieces of her mind go ka-chunk, cogs clicking together like clockwork. "So what do I get in return?"

Kai's face borrows the features of a surprised child. "But the most important gift of them all. You get to live"

She snorts humorlessly, "You sound so much like your father. That merge thing really does screw with your heads."

Offering a noncommittal shrug, Kai fishes into his jacket's pocket and takes out a Kit Kat bar. He breaks it in half, offering one chunk to Soe Yun, before munching on the other half. "Well, that merge thing is the only thing keeping me from burning everyone alive so good thing I ate my little bro"

"There's gotta be a better way of saying that. Poor Luke. Did you actually eat him though?"

Kai throws her a do-you-really-wanna-know look and she sneers, shaking her head.

He turns to look back at the grimoires piling up haphazardly on the shelves. Red wisps, only visible to the trained eye, swirl around the heavy tomes, sole evidence of the fight put up by their rightful owners, remnants of broken witches and their ruptured magic.

Memories come back, flickering through his mind. Fugacious images, of when he used to tag along with Soe Yun on her grimoire hunting trips, unfurl like a silent film. She was obsessed with collecting and if her hobby helped soothe her dark magic induced blood lust, the better.

The most vivid piece of recollection, sticking out like a sore thumb, remains his father's carefully concealed glee every time Soe Yun had to hand over the most interesting grimoires. It took him some time to realize his partner in crime was just a weapon in his father's hands.

"What about your dad?"

He swallows the processed chocolate, tongue licking the rest of it from his teeth, "What about him?"

Soe Yun inspects the last bit of Kit Kat. She pops it in her mouth and lands her piercing pupils on him, grazing at the surface, "Don't you want to know where he's hiding?"

His lips tug upward, "Don't worry. He'll get out sooner than you think".

She meets his smile with a snake like version of her own.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

Caroline hurls another log toward her, this time more forceful, a wooden bullet rushing, slicing through the air. Bonnie operates only on instinct, whirling to her right, palm outstretched. The log explodes into tiny blazing blue pieces.

"Not bad", Caroline sends her an impressed look and Bonnie smiles.

Her Grams' backyard is the perfect training ground, removed from the neighborhood and at a short distance from the woods.

She needs to get reacquainted to her magic again. She needs to welcome back that power breathing under her skin, crackling her bones with achingly sweet bursts of lightning, infusing her muscles of that sense of purpose, that certainty she has been deprived of for so long. She wants to be strong again.

And after that meeting at the Salvatore mansion, she needs to blow off some steam.

Practice kept her from thinking, from exhuming that deeply rooted, pesky little seed of guilt, encased into the box labelled denial in a far part of her mind. It already started growing, spreading like ivy, watered into life by her traitorous psyche that flashes mementos of her losing control, the almost taste of his blood on her tongue, of his fingers wrapped around her wrist, of a dinner ending in a battlefield.

The wind shifts, and the hair on her nape murmurs its route. Bonnie imperceptibly sidles left. The leaves' whispers become deafening and she thrusts her arms forward, closing her fists, fingers clenched into her palms.

Life stills and she can see Caroline a breath away from her, mid lunge, halted in her mad dash toward her, arms and legs trapped by the invisible strings pulled taut by Bonnie's fists.

Trickles of sweat trail down her temples and both friends grin. Bonnie tries to hold onto the tangible threads of the world as long as she can but nature rebels and in a heartbeat Caroline tackles her to the ground, her incandescent blue nails gently encased into Bonnie's throat.

"Got ya", she blurts out. Bonnie croaks a smile and flicks her wrist.

The blonde vampire is flung back, a gust of wind hitting her like a sucker punch to the stomach. She lands on her back with a grunt. "Ow, that hurt", she lets out and Bonnie laughs.

She revels in the power that seeps into her flesh, nervous energy, feeding off of colors, flavors, tones and wrapping her in its warmth. Bonnie takes a long, invigorating breath and blinks at the sun rays burning her skin. The glowing light fades, summoned away by Caroline's golden halo and almost translucent blue eyes gazing down on her. "Break?"

"Yep". Bonnie grips Caroline's open palm and follows her friend's tug upward.

She stands and stretches herself, allowing the magic to swirl in her blood, slowly, tentatively infusing the frail trails of darkness, black liquid blending with her Bennett ancestry. Her joints pop and crack and her steps fall into cadence with those of her childhood best friend, heading toward the house.

They snack in comfortable silence, Caroline drinking her O-neg and Bonnie going through her second bag of doritos.

"So, are you really going to do it?"

Bonnie meets Caroline's questioning eyes "Do what?"

"Are you gonna trap him there?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Caroline shrugs, "Dunno. Since that evening, you know, when you came back looking like you just had great sex-"

"Caroline!", Bonnie almost chokes on her doritos, hoping her wide eyes convey her indignation

"I'm just saying, you seem better, less … tormented since that night."

Bonnie sneers, unable to control the bitterness in her voice, "So what, just because he apologized and took some of my dark magic, which actually benefitted him, I should just let bygones be bygones? Continue on Bonnie being the doormat that she always is"

"I'm not saying that"

"So what are you saying? I'm sorry, I'm not like you, or Elena. Quick to forgive and forget at a snap of fingers just because a guy gives you attention"

The ensuing silence makes her wish she could swallow back her words. She exhales her regret, however unable to unspool the threads of anger wired around her heart.

"I'm sorry-"

"No", Caroline turns to lock eyes with her, faint despondent smile finding its way on her lips, "You're right. You've been hurt, so much … and you never really could do anything about it. Now you can."

The blonde vampire hesitates, seems to weigh her words and adds, "I just want to make sure that this is what you really want. It's not like you to be hell bent on revenge"

Bonnie's eyes sharpen and something inside her smiles at the wariness it elicits from Caroline, "Maybe I've changed. Maybe I want someone to pay for what happened to me. And if I can't blame him, then I'll have to blame me for it. And I don't want to do that."

Her friend nods, fills her glass with the rest of the blood bag and takes a sip, "All very valid reasons." she agrees, before scrunching her face at a thought flashing through her mind, "Ugh I wish I had talked to you before doing the nasty with Klaus."

Bonnie chuckles, "You just enjoyed playing bait"

"And there's nothing wrong with that", Caroline replies, wiggling her eyebrows, and giggles when Bonnie rolls her eyes, lips reluctantly tipping up.

"Besides, it's not really important, you're with Stefan now", Bonnie says grinning. The grin is replaced by a confused frown when her blonde friend's smile dims at her words.

"Yeah, Stefan", Caroline lets out, seemingly lost in thought.

"What's wrong with Stefan?"

"Nothing", comes the too quick rely, voice a touch too bright

"Caroline", Bonnie questions a tinge more forceful.

The vampire heaves a sigh, easily relenting, "He said … remember to bring me back." Glancing at Bonnie's furrowed brows, she adds, "When I switched off my humanity and went full on control freak crazy, asking him to shut off his as well, he told Elena – remember to bring me back"

"Oh"

"Yeah … oh"

"Have you talked to him about it?"

Caroline shakes her head, taking another swig of blood, "No, no … no. I'm kind of afraid of what his answer will be. You know that thing they say about ignorance and bliss. And I knew what I was getting into anyway"

"Well, you should talk to him. It's better than torturing yourself over stupid what ifs. Life's way too short for that. Well, mine anyway" Bonnie offers and she feels vindicated when the clouds that gathered in Caroline's eyes fade away.

With a chuckle, her vampire friend stands, heralding her departure, "Yeah I might do just that. And you should follow my advice"

"Which one?"

"About enjoying playing bait", Caroline replies, winking at her. She finishes the glass of blood, waves her goodbye and leaves.

Bonnie mulls over her words as she takes a quick shower, back into their dorm, letting the hot water soothe the tightness in her limbs and help strengthen her resolve.

His days were numbered, the sand in the hourglass of his existence pouring fast, so she might as well get all the answers she needs, use him like he does her. Besides, she'll show him he's not the only one capable of using the element of surprise.

Bonnie makes up her mind when she steps out of the bathroom, when her skin contentedly breathes in the light breeze of the surprisingly hot autumn afternoon.

She picks a pair of sinfully short shorts, a white tank top and a grey wrap cardigan.

When she stops before his door, she has to remind herself to breathe, reigning on her increasingly beating heart and forces herself to press on the doorbell before her old self chickens out and chalks it all to a temporary lapse in sanity.

As usual, surprise never registers long on Kai's face, just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it sudden shadow quickly erased by a lazy smile and something dangerously akin to hunger filling his eyes as she lets him drink her in.

At least this whole trip to the wolf's den was not for naught.

Bonnie raises her eyebrows. He steps back, opening the door wider, and she feels him watching as she makes her way in.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you but were we supposed to meet?", he says closing the door and turning to face her.

He's been practicing magic. That much is obvious; she can feel invisible strands of power simmer from him before ebbing away. Some of them prod at her own and she feels the faint touch against her skin, a gentle tingle at her nerve endings that travels down her spine.

Bonnie crosses her arms, and tries to will herself to relax as she feels her muscles tense, artifact of the residual apprehension that takes hold of her when in his presence. He notices, she can tell by the clench of his jaw and the slight pursing of his lips.

"Well, I'm not going to wait for you to summon me and I figured the sooner I help you with your spell the sooner I'll get rid of you", she answers and punctuates her words with a fake sweet smile. She welcomes the gratification that comes when his eyes momentarily lose their mirth, shades of annoyance coating his pupils, and his smirk has less bite. Bonnie carefully tucks these tell-tale signs away in a corner of her mind and waits for his next move.

Kai only snorts softly before gesturing for her to follow him. They pass by his newly renovated living room, theater of their last showdown, making Bonnie wonder where the hell does he get all this money, and enter the kitchen.

He's been practicing indeed.

The bursts of energy are stronger; the walls thrum with the after effects of powerful spells and incantations, the air rustles around him, loaded words hovering in the atmosphere, whispering in her ear, filling the room.

The kitchen could be easily mistaken for an alchemist's lair, with peculiar devices, some more suitable to a chemist lab, pieces of sculpted metal, soldering iron and surgical pliers littering the counter while the table is mapped by open grimoires, salt filled beakers and flasks half brimming with water. And a plate of half eaten delicious looking slice of apple pie.

Bonnie feels her chest tighten. There's that feeling again. The aching need to belong, to find kinship, that threatens to overwhelm her. It gnaws at her heart and exposes how isolated she's been, the lone witch that survived among vampires. It rips open that dreaded pandora box filled with what ifs, had Is and questions of what her magic would have been had she grown among her kin, evolved with their teachings, practiced with others.

And that makes her hate him even more, resent him as he taunts her with his knowledge, with a power that he loves to flaunt when she is terrified of losing hers once again. When she knows what a fragile, fleeting thing it can be. When she has known first-hand what it means to be stripped of your magic, to lose your core and be left to wander without of piece of yourself.

Bonnie can hear Kai quietly sit at the table behind her as she studies the artefacts lying on the counter. She schools her features into a mask of indifference and turns around, meeting his keen gaze. His stare burns through her and she quickly averts her eyes, noticing a drawing, a design sketched into the paper. She picks it up, inspecting it and locks eyes with him again. "Is that the design of the ascendant? The one for your father's prison?"

Kai nods before gesturing to his plate, "I got more pie in the oven if you want… since you didn't enjoy our dessert last time", he adds cheekily.

She eyes the plate, the taste of caramelized apple ghosting on her tongue, making her stomach ache in yearning, and she notices the corners of his lips lean into his signature charming smile, sneakily cajoling her into accepting his peace offering. She looks up to meet his eyes, her lips curving upward as well, "No, I'm good"

This time he cannot suppress the faltering of his features. Bonnie watches as his lips painfully contort into a grimace masquerading as a smile and he swallows, barking out a laugh to exhale his visible disappointment. Even small victories can taste like winning the war altogether and Bonnie revels in the thrill it sends through her.

She reverts her attention back to the design, as Kai leans back on the chair, eyes still trained on her. "The design's different", Bonnie muses, looking back and forth between the drawing and the pieces of metal disposed on the counter, her mind putting two and two together.

"The prison is different", Kai answers, picking his plate and tasting the rest of pie.

"The other prisons were different too. Why make this ascendant triangular instead?", Bonnie asks, curiosity piqued.

Kai locks eyes with her, and takes another bite, seemingly smiling at the not impressed look Bonnie pins him with. He shrugs, smirk finding its way back on his lips, "Because I'm the leader of the coven and I do what I want"

"Oh please", Bonnie huffs, rolling her eyes, and Kai laughs.

She goes to sit across from him, laying the drawing back on the table, "So, how do we do this?"

Kai swallows another mouthful and goes to place the plate in the sink. He takes his sweet own time, washing it before treading back towards her. She watches, annoyance building inside her, as he wipes his hand in a towel and throws it on the counter. He reclaims his place opposite her and offers a noncommittal shrug, "well, spells like these are pretty intricate, it's a combination of different pieces, like a puzzle. And it takes time to settle and we have to test it to be sure it works-."

Realization dawns on her, "That's why you want to wait for the next celestial event. So the spell has enough time to settle. So once again you lied about the 1903 prison needing more ingredients", she lets out through gritted teeth

"No no no, what I said was true.", Kai leans forward, raised hands placating. "There's no getting in there without harnessing the power of the coming eclipse. In the meantime, we have ample time to work on my father's prison. Two birds, one stone."

Bonnie still glares at him, and Kai's tentative smile and raised eyebrows only fuel her anger further. She's mostly annoyed at herself, at the easy way he keeps her on pins and needles, never able to gain a foothold against him.

She leans back on her chair, arms crossed, silent cue for him to let her in on his plan. This time, he doesn't revert to cheeky gestures or juvenile jokes. A serious Kai is a rare enough occurrence so she allows herself to truly look at him, peer at the lines of his face, try to reconcile this scruff sporting version of Kai with the one that terrorized her in 1994.

"We need to first assemble the dedicated ascendant. When that's done, we start putting together the different parts of the spell and, after that, link it to the ascendant. Then we test it out. Next eclipse is in a month. It should be enough time."

He meets her eyes as if to ask for permission and Bonnie exhales a sigh and reluctantly nods

"Okay then", he offers a faint upturn of his lips and goes to retrieve the different pieces of metal soon to be clicked and merged together to create the prison's key.

Bonnie feels his eyes on her when she shrugs off her cardigan, draping it on the chair's back, and braces herself from any lewd comments but he only gives an appreciative once over and seems to smile to himself before focusing his attention on the ascendant's design.

They work in surprisingly comfortable silence, often broken by his soft humming, as they try to piece the artefact together. They fall into their respective roles; Kai sculpts the metal bits into their intended form, passing them to Bonnie as she pieces them together. The back and forth could have helped her relax if it wasn't for Kai's hand always finding a way to brush against hers eliciting goosebumps skittering on her skin or the weight of his stare on her, a burning caress on her naked flesh. She lets herself revel in the sweet feeling pooling low in her belly, thoughts going back to Caroline's words, and she inwardly smiles, purposely not paying him any mind.

That suspicious part of herself does not allow her to relish the boost to her ego as a thought worms its way in her mind. She raises her head and as if on cue he looks up meeting her questioning eyes.

"Did it take that long for your coven to imprison you? If it takes this long to create the spell and the prison, how come you didn't escape them?"

Her words draw out one of his feral grins she's come to learn to fear.

"Very good question", he says almost gleeful and Bonnie tenses again. He leans back on the chair, fingers twirling the piece of iron he'd been working on, eyes never leaving hers. "Well, you see, my father had already created the spell and the ascendant way before."

"Why?"

"He forged it the moment he realized I could win the merge with my nasty little ability of eating magic. So while Daddy dearest made my mother have more children, he also concocted a plan B just in case. Like I told you, my coven is very thorough and my father absolutely hates contingencies."

Bonnie watches him warily, trying to make sense of this new piece of information. "And my Grams helped him."

Kai nods. "Your lovely Grams helped him" he answers, a cutting edge to his voice belying the lopsided curve of his lips.

Bonnie meets his stare head on; plastering her own version of a simpering smile, the irony of history repeating itself not lost on her. "Well, good on her. Unlike me, she had very good reasons to help your coven".

Kai snickers and the piece of metal he'd been fiddling with hovers in the air, his fingers making it go round and round. "Your Grams was no angel, trust me. There are all kinds of witches, Bonnie. Good ones, evil ones, extremely cruel ones. But the common thread among us is that we're self-serving, whatever we do is for a self-serving purpose, it can be balance, it can be more power or in the case of your Grams it can be extending the influence of the Bennett line."

_I look after my own first_. The words of her Grams spring into her mind, a reminder of the little time she had with the one family that loved her unconditionally, that knew enough to shield her – maybe too much – from a world she had no idea existed, the only one to recognize her selflessness as a liability.

"Like I said, she had perfectly good reasons to help lock you up" Bonnie answers, arching her brow, challenging. "You don't know anything about my Grams, so shut up"

"Neither do you", he fires back, leaning forward, voice deceptively calm. This is her tell-tale sign that she's irritated him and Bonnie instinctively crosses her arms. "Did you know that my coven and your family were old allies? Some shit about helping each other during the Salem trials. Did you know that because your Grams were friends with my family, she took my sister Jo in when she travelled to Mystic Falls? Did you even know Jo existed? Did you know what a certified badass your ancestor Emily was? One that had vampires cower in fear instead of being used by them."

The last sentence feels like a gunshot, a soundless explosion tearing the stillness and shooting through her heart. Bonnie's eyes widen and she almost chokes on her anger. She doesn't even think and raises her hand. One of the surgical pliers flies through the air, lodging itself right through Kai's palm, cutting flesh and cracking phalanges.

Kai swallows a scream, his teeth sinking deep in his lower lip, as he cradles his injured hand. He locks furious black eyes with Bonnie and fear makes her heart skip a bit, when she sees his anger materialize into a dark aura surrounding him. The room turns cold and suffocating in a second and Bonnie's breathing becomes ragged, her lungs crying out for more air. She doesn't avert her eyes, however, matching his glare with one of her own instead, magic at the ready to strike back.

Kai stares at her for a moment, long minutes that make her heart thud wildly against her ribcage. He then shuts his eyes and releases a slow breath and the dark mist circling him fades away, light simmering back into the room. Bonnie tries to even her breathing and watches as Kai takes hold of the plier and, in one swift motion, pulls it out of his hand, pain contorting his features. Just like her last visit, she sees him focus on his wound and urge dark serpentine lines to converge toward his palm and burn the open gash shut.

Bonnie swallows painfully as he reverts his eyes back to her and cannot suppress her relief when he barks out a laugh.

"Just so you know I'd rather you insult me than try to maim me next time I anger you", he lets out a touch breathless, trying to bring air back to his lungs

Snickers escape her lips, and she exhales sharply, shrugging to cast away the tension in her limbs

"You okay?", she asks, peering at him

"I'll survive" he answers, meeting her eyes, smirk adorning his lips

"You deserved it", she lets out, stubbornly, like a child about to be chastised

Kai snorts, "You're probably right".

"Bathroom?", she asks, eyebrows raised, willing her heart to return to normal.

"1st floor, on the left", he answers.

Bonnie nods and all but rushes out of the room.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

He winces against the sharp pain shooting through his palm, watching as the wound slowly scars. That's the fourth scar she's given him, but who's counting anyway.

The guilt ridden part of him acquiesces with Bonnie's words, drumming _you totally deserved it_ like a mantra against his skull. The other part – the one that couldn't take her rebuttals and reminders of what a fucking asshole he was and gave her a taste of her own medicine – howls in fury, revolting against his restraint, and demands retribution for this act of physical aggression.

Kai is really getting fucking tired of these goddamn feelings.

The more he was silent witness to the tug of war between his two personas, the more he felt like setting himself on fire might be a good way to go and just be done with it.

He releases another breath and eyes the ascendant. "Come on, man. Head in the game.", he mentally cheers himself, picking the metal pieces and resuming his work.

He thought he got a handle on his emotions, as hard as they were to manage, but her arrival had thrown him out for another loop. She knew damn well what she was doing wearing those shorts and taunting him with all that exposed skin. Good thing he had a pretty active sex life or he would have spent most of her visit locked in the bathroom trying to take care of his raging boner.

Add her heart-stopping choice of clothes to her momentary loss of control and he was pretty much doomed. She had no idea how fucking glorious she was when she lets the magic take over, when she relinquishes her grip on it.

But Bonnie never lets her guard down in his presence, she only let's go to inflict pain on him, although she seemed a touch apologetic after stabbing him with that plier this time. Progress, I guess, he thinks. The sociopath part of him just wants to claw his eyes out.

That devilish side lets him know that his precious Bonnie is becoming a bit too dangerous. She makes him lose focus, be way too honest, easily giving away information she should not be privy to just so he can get a glimpse of the Bonnie that ruefully smiled at him and tentatively, shyly, flirted back with him in 1994. Before the psycho children killing bomb dropped on her and Damon's head.

And he knows, he knows she's aware of her effect on him. And yet, he's willing to let it play out, see how far she's willing to go.

The sound of her footsteps echo in the corridor but instead of approaching they seem to veer in the opposite direction, before stopping altogether. Kai frowns at the sudden silence and stands to go check on her.

He finds her in his new living room that cost him a fortune to renovate, well except for the one thing he asked the workers to leave untouched. The one thing she's staring at. She stands, back to him, facing the wall she'd flung him on, eyes trained on the traces of blood, his blood, staining the white paint.

Kai's pretty sure she's aware of his presence, her back straightening as he slowly approaches her, eyes lured by the curves hinted by these damn shorts, travelling upward along the column of her spine, to land on the slope linking her shoulders into that frail sweet neck of hers, making him ache for a taste.

She turns to face him when he stops a breath away from her, and he knows she must have misjudged his proximity, her eyes widening ever so slightly, seemingly surprised at how close he is.

Bonnie takes a step back crossing her arms, her skin touching his wall, and he takes a step forward, their warmth mingling and his magic brushing against hers. He feels her shiver at the contact and Kai stifles a victorious smile.

He watches her as she darts her eyes, looking everywhere but at him before seemingly squaring her shoulders and meeting his stare. He offers a faint grin, well aware he's treading on thin ice, one wrong move and he'd send her running back to her dorm.

"It's not nice you know", he whispers

"What?"

"It's not very nice to tease me like that"

He watches as her lips curve into a smug smirk before slowly parting, answering "I'm not nice"

Kai chuckles.

His eyes travel upward to meet her assessing gaze and he bites back on the disappointment flaring in his chest at seeing apprehension and suspicion staring back at him.

He reaches out and she tenses. He slowly picks a tuft of her hair, his fingers fiddling with it, and tucks it being her ear, skin brushing against skin.

He hears her take a sharp intake of breath, her eyes glancing down when he lets his fingers trace the curve of her ear, run the tip against her jaw, brush his hand against the skin of her arm leaving a trail of goosebumps. She's not the only one that can tease.

She releases a slow breath when he puts his hands in his pockets, meeting his gaze.

"I meant what I said", Kai hopes she can see how open he chooses to be with her, even if it leaves him open for any strike against him.

Bonnie raises her eyebrows, questioning and he adds, "I'm really sorry for what I did to you. I know you don't believe me and you don't owe me anything but I mean it when I say that I won't hurt you"

Kai takes her silence as a good sign and presses on, "And I'm not using you. I just want us to strike a truce, work together, like partners … allies even if we have different goals"

He watches as Bonnie seems to mull over his words, settling her eyes on his shoulder in order not to meet his gaze, her lips pursing. He waits for a reply, relief washing over him when she doesn't leave right away or scoff at what he said.

Her silence stretches on but she eventually looks up to him, eyes narrowed, "Why did you cook me dinner?"

"Which time?", he asks, a faint smile coaxing her to relax around him.

"Before you stabbed me. You flew me to your home, cooked me dinner, talked about your family and then you stabbed me and left."

His smile fades away and he swallows the bitter aftertaste of regret, but doesn't say anything, discarding another apology he knows she has no use for.

He sees her eyes turn hard, reliving the painful memory, "You knew you were going to take my blood when you went to Portland. Why did you do all of this, lull me into a false sense of security, promise me I will leave unharmed, knowing full well you'll hurt me and leave me behind", Bonnie lets out, anger seeping from each word.

This time, he's the one averting his eyes, weighing his words, trying to reconcile the two parts of him warring inside.

Bonnie snorts, and Kai hates the sense of despondency that seeps from her tone. "Let me guess, it was just a trick, a last fucked up prank before getting out", she spits, clenching her jaw.

Kai meets her gaze, "No, not a trick. More of a test"

Bonnie stares back, incredulous.

He shrugs, eyeing her warily, "I wanted to know if I could talk you into bringing me back, or coming back with me. You were adamant that you did not want anything to do with me and that you'd rather stay stuck there. So I made sure you wouldn't prevent me from leaving this time."

He can see Bonnie recoil from the impact of his words, implicitly laying the blame on her for her ordeal alone in 1994. He can imagine her mind buzzing with scenarios and what ifs only to end with the same conclusion. She let herself be played.

Kai lets her swallow the information, make peace with what could have been, mourn the loss of normality because that dimension changes and corrupts even the bravest and most stainless souls.

Bonnie nods to herself and looks up, this time decidedly locking eyes with his.

"Okay", she says

"You believe me?", Kai asks

She sneers, eyes sharpening, "Not a chance. But okay for a truce. Since we have to work together, I'll try not to let my hate prevent us from reaching our goals."

Kai's smile doesn't reach his eyes. _Baby steps_ , he thinks.

He extends his hand, waiting. Bonnie hesitates, green pupils flickering between him and his hand. At long last she places her palm in his, and Kai revels in the friction of his power against hers, their respective magic acknowledging one another. By the sound of Bonnie's shaky breath, he's not the only one feeling the electricity running through their bodies. His thumb traces circles on the back of her palm, and his ego hums contentedly when it elicits a shiver from Bonnie who quickly pulls her hand from his.

"What's next then", she asks, looking up at him

"Come back tomorrow to start working on the spell?"

"Ok", she nods and waits, arching her brow.

"Oh sorry", he cheekily grins, taking a step back. Kai watches as she goes back to the kitchen to retrieve her belongings and leaves the house.

_Fucking whipped_ , the sociopathic trickster he keeps locked inside him sneers with venom.

"Shut the fuck up", he lets out aloud, inhaling the last traces of Bonnie's perfume.

His eyes travel back to the blood stains on the white wall.

Baby steps, he reminds himself, smirking.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

 

all mistakes are mine

 


	4. Chapter 4

Tomorrow becomes one week. Bonnie can't allow herself to see him every day. So she decides once a week is dose enough of Kai Parker she can take. Autumn is slowly but steadily coloring the world red, brown and orange, its now chilly breeze swaying her strands as she treads the familiar path toward his home.

Stefan and Damon have tried contacting Papa Parker to no avail, even with Liv's reluctant help. He was a hard man to track, having almost vanished from existence the moment his murderous son made it back from his own underworld. They however found a lead that if proven right could be the breakthrough they'd been hoping for.

That leaves her stuck playing Kai bait once again. Although a part of her, small at first, has learned to see the value in such a twisted alliance, one she would latch onto under changed circumstances. She can hone her craft, learn more about her line and her kin.

And as much as Kai likes to think he has all under control, unbeknownst to him, she's the one with the upper hand now. She's the one that briefly held his life in her palms, and sold him out to her vampires friends. The one that may lead him to his demise while masquerading as grudging ally.

Bonnie clings to the thrill this realization brings to her, eliciting a spring to her steps, a curve of her lips as it sows back together the ripped parts of her heart, even if only loosely. She doesn't however pay any mind to that prick at the back of her neck, that slight dissonant note in her heartbeats that reminds her of all the ways Kai Parker has positively surprised her, even come to the brink of forcefully snatching some of her reluctant admiration and sense of kinship.

_Ugh stop it_ , Bonnie groans to herself, _you're playing right into his hands. He's a bloodthirsty manipulating psychopath_ , she reminds herself, cursing against these bouts of guilt tangled with threads of logic, infecting her resolve like a disease.

And yet, a nagging, annoying little voice whispers. _He has changed_.

And he's the reason she's part of the fabric of this world again, instead of being an ersatz to the other dimension.

Bonnie exhales sharply, annoyance sparking at her inability to warp her thoughts to her will, and once again, she's a bundle of exasperated nerves when she approaches his home, wisps of Parker magic welcoming her.

This time Kai only rolls his eyes at the scowl she sports when he opens the door, seemingly frustrated as well.

"You're a week late", he throws lazily and turns toward the kitchen leaving her standing befuddled at the door. Bonnie debates on sending a little vatos his way but decides against it, squares her shoulders and steps into his house, the door closing itself behind her.

She follows Kai's path and finds him unrolling what looks like a scroll of white paper on the kitchen table. He offers a quick glance before reverting to his task. Her eyes then fall on the now completed ascendant, strategically placed in the middle of the counter so it is impossible for her not to notice it. Kai's subtle way of chastising her for leaving him hanging for a week, she presumes.

Her hunch is confirmed when she turns to meet his stare as he studies her, arms crossed, head slightly tilted. "Hmm, no shorts today I see, you must really mean business"

"Perceptive as always", Bonnie deadpans, mustering her most unimpressed look

"I try", Kai replies, merely shrugging. He rakes a hand through his newly cut, buzzed at the sides, hair and goes to retrieve two bowls. Bonnie watches him, letting her stare wander along the muscles of his back hinted at by his dark red t-shirt, her eyes stopping right at the edge of his jeans before quickly darting up to his profile, taking in the spatter of facial hair covering his jaw.

This version of Kai is steadily erasing the memories of the teenage looking boy she battled in the hell they had temporarily shared and Bonnie doesn't know how to feel about it, scared to think what that might entail. She blinks and averts her eyes in time as Kai turns and heads back toward the table, both bowls filled with water in hand. He places them in a horizontal line at each end of the piece of paper.

She notices his manufactured silence and a smirk traces her lips, realization dawning on her. She unbuttons her coat and widens her smile when Kai meets her gaze, "Oh, please don't tell me you pouted your way through the week"

He snickers, taking a seat at the table before the paper. "Why do you always have to be so mean to me?" he asks in mock hurt, expression fast replaced by his trademark feral smile and her eyes betray her and fall to his mouth. The smile turns into a smug smirk letting her know he caught her blink-and-you'll miss it glance at his lips. She silently thanks whatever deity for her darker complexion hiding the faint redness heating her cheeks and settles trained annoyed eyes on the table, upraising the ingredients set on it for the spell.

The missing components spark the question eliciting her furrowed brow, "there's not enough to create another prison replica"

"Oh, look who's the perceptive one, now" Kai answers, mocking

Bonnie meets his stare with peeved eyes, offering a fake simpering smile, her voice losing a couple octaves. "I try", she throws his words back at him, challenging.

Her self-appointed victory is short lived when this time the curve of his lips is wolfish; baring his teeth, darkened eyes burning her skin and Bonnie decides she should not be playing with fire. Not with him anyways. It was enough that every time she's in his presence, she has to suppress a shiver from the brush of his magic against hers. The last thing she needs is to fend off Kai's heated gazes, even though she's always the one subconsciously bringing it out of him.

She huffs a breath, breaking the tension, and shakes her head, trying to make sense of it all, "So you're not building a prison"

"Yes, I am, " he replies, mirth brightening his dark blue pupils, "I told you it was a specific one"

"Do I even want to know how specific?"

Kai barks out a laugh, and something hot pools in Bonnie's belly. "I don't know. Do you?", he asks, eyebrows raised. She rolls her eyes and he lets out another snicker.

Her coat placed on the counter, Bonnie takes a seat across from him and waits for his instructions. Kai picks up a beaker and pours a thin line of salt on the paper from one bowl to the other. He repeats the same task with a dark ink Bonnie recognizes as witch's brew, one her Grams liked to use, and he traces a line on the white fabric parallel to the salt one.

Her gaze is once again lured to his jaw and she's about to silently scold herself when she notices the scar on his neck, the one she's given him when going straight for the jugular as she stabbed him while in his prison. Her pupils widen when the marked tissue darkens, a dark liquid coloring it black. She's about to speak when Kai beats her to it, biting back on a hiss, his fingers tracing the newly ink colored ragged skin.

"Your dark magic is really potent, and as aggressive as you are towards me", he answers her silent query.

"How come it doesn't hurt you like it hurt me?", Bonnie asks, "it literally burned me from the inside"

Kai shrugs, "Beats me. Guess it likes me better than you"

"Oh yeah, your black heart must have been a perfect match", she sneers

"Please, not as dark as yours when you try to impale me with pliers", Kai fires back

Bonnie snorts, still eyeing him suspiciously, and Kai throws his hands in surrender "Seriously, I don't know"

"Not even the almighty, all knowing coven leader, Malachai Parker", she deadpans

Kai smirks at her use of his full name and just shrugs, "Sometimes magic is just that. Magic. Can't be explained. You just roll with it. Even a control freak like you has to let go from time to time"

Bonnie purposely ignores that loaded double entendre, "I like my magic reliable and precise, thank you very much"

"Well, I happen to favor chaos, makes it more exciting and unpredictable", he smirks, adding, "And you know what they say about opposites"

"Yes. They try to cancel each other out, which for us means kill", Bonnie answers, hoping her words carry the intended bite, punctuating them with a glare for good measure. It only casts out another rueful grin from Kai that she feels right into her thudding heart. She heaves a weary sigh, gesturing toward the items lain between them.

"What now?", she asks, not meeting his assessing eyes.

His lips lean into a faint smile, seemingly letting her of the hook, and was it anyone else, she might be grateful for it. Kai wets his fingers in the bowl at his right, picks a small scalpel type knife and cuts his right palm. He hands it to her handle first and she repeats the same action. She follows his lead as they both clench their palm, urging drops of their blood to spill in the middle of the cloth between the lines of salt and dark ink.

Bonnie watches as Kai repeats the same action pouring water on his hands from the bowl on the left this time and cutting his left palm and she does just as much, creating another puddle of blood near the first one. Kai then offers both his bleeding palms to her and she meets his gaze, brow furrowed.

"Take my hands, we need to channel each other", he says, waiting, his features inscrutable.

Bonnie hesitates, well aware of what channeling might lead to.

"Don't worry I'm only borrowing your magic. If I push any boundary, you can just snap me out of it. Or stab me, as you like to do", Kai adds, coaxing her into agreeing.

A month ago, she would have left the house without further ado. A week ago, she would have laughed to his face and tried to find another way. But now, she cannot deny that she is intrigued. The last warlock she channeled was Luka and he wasn't nearly as powerful as Kai. It had been exhilarating.

"No need to be scared, Bonnie, I won't take anything", Kai's voice is calm and soft but to her ears, it's taunting and mocking and does the trick as she purses her lips and her brash, piqued pride throws caution to the wind. She places her palms in his and they both inhale sharply at the lightning fast spark skittering on their skin.

Kai holds her hands tightly and locks determined eyes with hers. When that familiar sensation, she absolutely will not name, stirs more forcefully in her belly and travels lower, Bonnie knows this was a tremendously bad idea. " Ready?", he asks

Bonnie nods, not trusting her voice and swallows painfully as Kai warns her, "It's a powerful spell, it might take a lot from us, so if you feel like it's too much, you stop it, ok?"

Righteous indignation flares in her chest and she's about to remind him she's Bonnie freaking Bennett, destroyer of the Other Side and savior of Mystic Falls, but he cuts her incoming tirade short, eyes surprisingly warm and a smile adorning his lips, "I know how powerful you are, you're a Bennett and that's why you're here, helping me. But this spell can hurt you, hell both of us, so no need to play hero or show off. If it hurts you, you stop". Kai ends his second warning, tone brooking no argument and stern eyes boring into hers.

Once again at a loss for words, desperately persuading herself that Kai's concern is only because he needs her for his other spells although that annoying inner voice whispers that she knows it's more than that, Bonnie can only muster another nod.

"Ok then, here we go", he announces and they both close their eyes, urging their magic to meet, tangle and feed off of each other.

It starts with a shot of lightning, right in the fabric of her very bones, and Bonnie grips Kai's hands tight as she feels like falling from a cliff, air whooshing in, out and all around her, making her heart thud wildly against her ribs. Then he starts chanting, and his voice becomes an anchor, the rope that catches and steadies her. It isn't long before the Latin, and its specific melody, forms a chorus in her mind and Bonnie chants along, her magic answering Kai's call.

And then she feels it. A wave of energy, his essence and that dark thing all witches fear and yearn, comes crashing against her power, both rolling around each other, circling in reverse orbits like satellites around nothingness. The force of their tangled auras reverberates against her skin, burns and tickles the walls of her body, blood shooting to her heart and her nerves endings, something dangerously akin to ecstasy taking hold of her fast burning limbs.

And she thought channeling Luka had been exhilarating.

Nothingness starts to squeeze and squiggle and stretches and slowly unravels into its intended shape. The magic takes form and lines trace themselves linking to one another in the darkness. One square figure appears, its final fourth line clicking with the others and something heavy drops in her belly.

The first seal has been put in place.

Sweat trickles down her temple, her palms turning moist and slippery into Kai's hands and she pushes her fingers, her hands creeping up his arms. She feels Kai stumble in his chanting before mirroring her action, letting his palms travel further up and grip her forearms, anchoring her to him, making the connection stronger.

The second seal, another square is set and when they take on the third one, Bonnie starts to comprehend how specific that prison is. The third seal is harder to build; their chant wavers and falters against their tired voices, each word becoming more painful to let out. Blood starts to dribble out of her nose and she feels more than hears every sharp intake of Kai's shuddering breath.

Just one more, he silently encourages and she would have smiled if it didn't hurt. The last line slowly traces its path before clicking with the others and the third square is set forming half the intended shape of Joshua Parker's future cell.

The three seals created, cold air breezes into her limbs, a balm to the burning inside her and the intertwined threads of their respective magic loosen and disentangle. His power slowly leaves her body, the loss felt in her veins, slight tremors the remnants of the hurricane that raged in her.

She hears Kai exhale slowly, the pressure of his fingers on her skin receding, leaving his mark, as he moves his hands off of her arms and she does the same. Bonnie painfully wills air into her lungs, feeling out of breath as if she's just run a marathon, and tentatively opens her eyes, blinking at the blinding light.

"Well, that was…" Kai huffs a disbelieving laugh and leans into his chair, seemingly as exhausted as she feels.

Bonnie only snorts, matching his smile. She gestures toward him, "You have blood on your face"

Kai nods and goes to pick two tissues. He offers her one and goes to sit back across from her. She feels him watching her as she studies the paper. The lines of salt and ink disappeared, burning into the white cloth. The two puddles of blood morphed into two parallel lines while the water from the bowls evaporated. Bonnie tucks this information into a corner of her mind, committing the spell to memory.

"Why a cube?", she asks, wiping her nose

He shrugs, repeating her action, "Dunno, I like math I guess and these kinds of spells are like algorithms, you can adapt your formula and tweak it to get the result you want"

She nods and takes in his words, wondering if she could use this trick to alter some spells she'd been working on. Her mind goes back to the prison, a bare black cube, worse than a confinement cell. Bonnie hesitates, weighs her words and asks the question that had been burning her tongue since she first learned of his past, "What did he do to you to warrant that much hate? From where I see it, he had no other choice but to put you into that prison"

She immediately regrets her words when Kai's features falter and settle into an impassive mask. His eyes sharpen and his smirk turns chilling. Apprehension traces a finger down her spine and she tries to slowly, imperceptibly lock her muscles into a defensive stance, ready to protect herself. His narrowed eyes tell her he noticed.

He watches her for a moment, his stare different from the warm brushes she's used to feel against her skin. This one is unsettling, dissecting, as if to assess where to hit and hurt. Fear dries her throat but she does not avert her eyes, purposely glaring at him, a warning on the tip of her tongue.

Kai snorts, gaze first mocking before becoming blank and Bonnie wonders why she feels something akin to loss. "I think you should leave", he states, deceptively calm and her face is the one falling this time. She recovers quickly, standing without sparing him any glance and picking her coat, almost rushing out of his home.

Anger builds inside her as she can't make sense of the effect of his words on her, his dismissal like a slap to her face, stinging sharply against her wounded pride.

Get a grip Bonnie, she chides herself to no avail. Guilt lies heavy on her shoulders all the way back to her dorm, her mood darkened. She briefly acknowledges her two best friends and hurries to the bathroom, losing herself in the embrace of a burning shower to clear her mind.

Exhaustion from the spell and the toll of emotions she does not want to face come crashing down on her, a wave whose tide she can't resist and she makes a bee line to her bed, forgoing dinner. The furtive flash of hurt on Kai's features leaves a burning imprint in her psyche as she wills slumber to take over.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

Heavy metal blasts into the headphones, his grey hoodie and sweatpants swaying against the forceful breeze as Kai picks up the pace, running faster, wind almost chafing his cheeks. The afternoon chill is a welcome salve against the heat burning his muscles, acid pumping in his veins, sweat making his t-shirt cling to his back and his thudding heart beating wildly. He takes a turn left and enters the neighborhood he temporarily calls home. The streets are eerily silent, the calm before the storm of students rushing out from a long day of classes.

This is why he falters in his steps, stopping short when ribbons of her magic lace around his more chaotic aura. He coughs against the painful intake of breath, his lungs and limbs rebelling against the abrupt stop to his daily run. He leans his hands on his knees, trying to catch a second wind and lets snickers bubble and escape his lips.

She lasted longer than he expected. That said from what he's experienced, Bonnie always seemed like the stubborn type. So after 6 days, radio silence on his part and a very flexible cheerleader, he can enjoy the graze of her magic against his again, that particular touch he's slowly becoming addicted to.

Kai exhales sharply and resumes his jog, opting for a slower pace. He turns another corner left and can make out Bonnie's silhouette, standing on his front steps, arms crossed waiting for him. He feels her tensing, a shift in her magic heralding that she caught him arriving. It isn't long before he stops running altogether and leisurely walks toward her.

"What are you doing here?", he welcomes, tone purposely cutting, eyes sharp. No way he's letting her think she's off the hook. He's going to enjoy watching her squirm a little, as she tries to fend off the guilt he's seen flashing in her pupils when he dismissed her from his house. _Welcome to my world_ , he thinks mockingly. Time for her to taste the medicine she's been inflicting on him since her return.

And Bonnie gives him that twisted satisfaction. She plays right into his hand as she averts her eyes, recoiling from his icy demeanor, seemingly uncomfortable. He doesn't wait for her answer as he passes her on the front steps, fishes the keys in his pockets and opens the door.

He's about to step into his home when he hears her huff a breath. "I'm not going to apologize to you", she states, voice less firm than he knows she would have hoped. He can almost envision the slight pout of her lips. Kai turns to meet her eyes, his features schooled into an impassive mask and snorts, taunting. "Then let me ask again? What the hell are you doing here?", he replies coldly, eyebrows raised.

Bonnie's mouth twists into a grimace, and she glares at him. A few heartbeats pass and he can pinpoint the exact moment she surrenders, shoulders slightly slumping. She lifts her eyes to meet his stare and reluctantly mumbles "Sorry for what I said the other day"

Kai tilts his head toward her, a confused frown marring his features, "Sorry, I don't think I heard that?"

The look she throws him could have burned him on the spot. "I am so sorry for hurting your fragile little ego the other day", Bonnie states, stressing every word as she levels him with another glare.

Kai laughs, shaking his head, and he can see her relax a little. "Don't flatter yourself, my ego is just fine. I was just messing with you."

"You're such an ass"

"Heh, I've been called worse", he deadpans and turns to enter his home, Bonnie following on his footsteps.

"Make yourself at home, I'll just take a quick shower and be right back" he tells her, going upstairs to his room. The shower is a cold one, stretching out his muscles and pacifying the beast that always stirs in Bonnie's presence, his dark magic responding to the tiny part she had kept with her.

Kai steps out of the bathroom, his eyes momentarily attracted to the mirror reflecting the multitude of scars adorning his skin. He snorts as he notices how Bonnie's scars were the visible ones, one on his neck, another on his abdomen while the older ones, those from his father's belt, sometimes electricity wires when daddy dearest felt like it, littered his back.

His cell rings and Kai frowns at seeing Soe Yun's ID blink on the screen, before answering

"Yeah", is his laconic welcome.

"You got a problem", comes her equally short reply

Kai snorts, "You know that Jay Z song about 99 problems"

"Spare me your frat boy humor for another day. Your father has made a move"

Kai sits on the bed, a faint smile tipping the corner of his lips upward. "Good. What made him get out?"

"No idea yet, but I'll get onto it", Soe Yun answers.

He narrows his eyes. His sociopath alter ego slowly raises his head, sharpening its claws. "Ok. Did he contact his followers?"

"Dunno. He disappeared as fast as he popped on my radar. Maybe he's just changing hiding locations"

"Or maybe he's preparing to make a move. Good thing I have you on my side"

"Do you need any back up?"

"Not yet. I'll let you know. Thanks for the heads up anyway"

"As long as I get the payment I requested", Soe Yun drawls, but Kai can recognize a warning when he hears one.

"Don't worry you'll get it.", he promises and cuts the call short.

His mind runs through his plan, trying to place the new piece of information into the puzzle of his revenge. His father moved faster than he expected but it didn't change much in the grand scheme of things. He'll just have to adapt. As always.

Kai goes to put on a pair of jeans and a blue t shirt, splashes some cologne on, the sociopath in him rolling his eyes, and makes his way towards the kitchen following the thread of Bonnie's energy. He finds her seated at the table, cradling a Gemini book of spells, her rapt focus on the Latin formulas passed through generations of Parkers.

"I see you found one of our not so sacred grimoires", he says, going to retrieve the items needed to set up the last of his father's prison world.

Bonnie lifts her attention from the book, as he sits across from her, laying the objects on the table. He smiles at the spark of wonder simmering in her eyes, highlighting the touches of green in her pupils.

"I have to admit the spells in there are so complex and pretty cool", she lets out, genuine excitement coloring her voice. He grins and as if on cue, she tampers down on her enthusiasm, offering a faint upturn of her lips, instead of the genuine full blown version that threatened to light up her face seconds ago. Kai doesn't mind. For now anyway. Baby steps, he kept reminding himself. He can already feel her guard lowering ever so slightly and he has been known to be a pretty patient and persistent man. 18 years in prison would do that to a person.

"Yeah, Hogwarts has nothing on us", he muses and Bonnie can't stifle her snort this time. He inwardly smiles at the small pleasure of making Bonnie Bennett snicker at his jokes.

Kai finishes setting up the items and repeats the same ritual they had performed a few days ago. He offers his bloodied palms to her, raising his brow to check if she's ready. Bonnie nods and slips her hands into his, both welcoming the familiar friction of their magic.

Channeling is a peculiar thing, as if getting high but in someone else's body.

Kai grips Bonnie's hands tight as adrenaline shoots into his veins, his senses becoming heightened. His blood buzzes and he can feel Bonnie's sharp intakes of breath and pounding heart under his skin and right in his ears. The words stumble out of his lips, their magic pressing together and Kai has to focus to control the hunger thrumming from his fingers, asking for a quick taste of the delectable Bennett energy.

_All in due time_ , he tempers as they set the first seal of the day, following up on the second one. The prison slowly materializes and that blood thirsty, revenge bent part in him, that part that has kept him alive all these years, hums contentedly as Kai becomes closer and closer from exacting revenge on those who had wronged him. He can already taste the fear of the renegade witches that escaped his coven, the blood he will drown his father in, he can already make out that righteous fury that will light Joshua Parker's eyes and the despair that will swallow him whole when he'll realize what he will have to endure.

That humming turns into hysterical cackling, the spirit of pre-merge Malachai stretching its limbs, roaring for more blood and pulling against the shackles Kai had put him in since killing Luke. Another wave of adrenaline courses through Kai's veins, expression fueling this surge of power, and makes him lose control. He can hear, far away, Bonnie's faint whimper as he swallows her magic, ravenous, guzzling on it like a thirsty animal on a puddle of water.

God.

She tasted.

So.

Good.

"Kai, it's hurting me", Bonnie let's out achingly and reality comes crashing in. He curses under his breath and angrily reigns on his beast, slamming it down back to its cage. He evens his breathing, urging his magic to alleviate her pain. Bonnie's thudding heart and breathless panting rebel against her efforts to slow them down and regain their previous cadenced tempo.

_Just hang on a little longer_ , he silently pleads to her, as her grip loosens, every word falling from his lip with increased difficulty.

When the last seal finally clicks shut the roof of his father's cell, Kai recoils against a sharp pain suddenly severing his connection to Bonnie.

_Shit_

He slams his eyes open, panic rising in his throat as she collapses on the table. With a flick of his wrist, he moves the piece of furniture out of the way and catches Bonnie's exhausted body into his arms. He feels her stiffen, and fight against his grip, her breathing ragged.

"It's okay, it's over", he says but Bonnie only answers by slapping him right in the face with the rest of her strength.

"Agh, I guess I deserved that one", he huffs out against the sting of her sharp nails against his cheek, lowering her to a sitting position on the ground.

"You fucking asshole", she croaks out, out of breath, jerking away from his embrace. She places one hand on her chest, clutching her heart, urging it to pacify its maddening beating, while the other's on the floor steadying her. She sends a cutting glare toward him, features contorted into a grimace, "What the hell happened?"

Kai rakes a hand through his short hair, "I lost control. Guess getting close to locking my father up got the better of me." He locks eyes with her, "sorry about that, feel free to stab me wherever you feel like, there's a knife right there if you want"

"Later" Bonnie promises, the beryl of her eyes turning snake like. Kai grins.

He sidles near her, tentatively offering his help, "let me at least take you to the guest room and rest there. You're too weak to go back home"

He watches and waits as Bonnie tries to stand by herself only to have gravity pull her back down. She hesitates for a moment and grudgingly nods. Kai slips an arm under her knees, his other one curling around her waist and lifts her from the floor. Bonnie's limp body falls back against his, one of her hands gripping his neck while the other clutches his chest for balance.

Kai stifles a smile when Bonnie presses her face against his shoulder, surrendering to exhaustion, and nestles further into his embrace. He inhales the faint scents of her perfume, tangled with whiffs of sweat, marveling how such a lightweight, petite woman can harbor so much strength.

Kai walks her to the room. She moves slightly when he climbs the stairs, and he soothes her remaining apprehension "The guest room's on the 1st floor", he informs her. That seems to do the trick as her breathing turns even, a perfectly cadenced rise and fall of her chest that signals her succumbing to slumber's spell.

Kai waves his fingers and the guest room unlocks itself, door opening. He lays Bonnie on the bed, retrieving a nearby blanket and covers her with it. He smirks when she flails slightly before folding her body into a comfortable position tucking the blanket under her. Kai watches as stress, anger and confusion drain from her features, its creases disappearing as she relinquishes control.

He owed her big time.

Getting Lily Salvatore out was a piece of cake. But creating a prison world was another thing entirely. His father had needed his whole coven and Sheila Bennett to create his. And his calculations were right, he thinks smugly, his magic, her Bennett power and him channeling what remains of his coven was enough to build a smaller version of his cell.

And now he did it. Joshua Parker will have his long awaited, long time coming, comeuppance.

Kai lowers his hand, and tucks rebellious tendrils behind Bonnie's ear, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw, grazing her cheek.

"Thank you very much, Bonnie Bennett", he whispers into her ear and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

He spends the night on the finishing touches of the prison, linking the cell to its key, the ascendant, creating strong spells to make the prison impervious to any potential loophole. Then he starts filling the prison with all the tools Joshua Parker might use to kill himself, making sure that the regenerating algorithm works to ensure his father will resuscitate after each suicide attempt.

When the wee hours of morning settle onto the world, Kai is sound asleep, sprawled on the kitchen table, fatigue heavy on his limbs after the strong and complex incantations he had to perform. It is why he doesn't register the light footsteps approaching, nor the aura he'd recognize anywhere, tickling him.

Sharp blinding pain sears through his mind, and he chokes on a scream as it seems like his blood vessels are popping one by one in his head. He's about to retaliate when the pain recedes, and he slowly, painfully opens his eyes. He blinks against the first touches of sunlight and massages his pupils, tearing himself from the stranglehold of sleep and pain.

His vision slowly adjusts and he huffs his annoyance when he sees a perky looking Bonnie standing before him, palm outstretched.

"I thought you were supposed to stab me", he croaks out, voice still thick.

Bonnie shrugs, picking up her belongings, ready to leave, "Too predictable", she answers and adds, eyeing the open grimoires and ascendant laying on the counter, "What now?"

Kai leans back into his chair, stretching out in front of her, " agghh, my back is fucked", he groans and meets her impatient stare, "What day is it?"

Bonnie rolls her eyes and checks her cell, "Wednesday"

"Ok, next Thursday, in a week, is a full moon. There's one last spell we need to do that will be bound to, you guessed it, the moon"

"What about the 1903 ascendant?", she asks, not missing a bit

"I'll give it to you after we perform the spell"

"Why not give to me now?" ,she counters

"Too lazy to search for it"

Kai snickers at Bonnie's annoyed features, "Oh come on Bonnie, what's another couple of hours after all these past days. When that's done you, Bonnie Bennett, will be free of me, Kai Parker, at last"

"If only, I still have to suffer your presence during that rescue mission", she fires back; still peeved.

"Yeah but you will be with your friends so it won't be as hard as it was for you these past few weeks", he replies lazily, stifling a yawn.

Kai stands up, scratching his head, and catches Bonnie looking at him, seemingly hesitant. He locks eyes with her, raising a questioning eyebrow but Bonnie only offers a quick "see you next week" before leaving him hungry and way too sleepy to make sense of her behavior.

With a flick of his hand, the mess in the kitchen disappears and he picks up the ascendant and his book of spells before dragging himself to his room for some well-deserved rest.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

Bonnie bobs her head in time to the music playing in her car as she takes a swerve right, on the way to the woods, behind Whitmore College. Night has already draped its dark curtain over the town and strips of moonlight bathe the road in silver.

She's late.

Playing wing-woman to Caroline at another of those frat boy college parties was activity enough for one night but she also has to meet the reformed psychopath turned unreliable ally that makes her do stupid things without questioning them.

One of these stupid things is listening to Caroline and not changing out of her party clothes before going to meet him. She was about to make a pit stop at their dorm when Kai's features flashed through her mind and she decided to go straight to their meeting point clad in a leather dress stopping mid thighs and red stockings. Good thing she brought a coat or he would get the wrong idea.

She stops her car at the mouth of the woods, and treads the last of the path on foot, wishing she had at least traded her stilettos with more comfortable footwear, following the trail of his magic. She finds him standing back to her at the center of a clearing, arms raised and her eyes widen when she notices the ripped roots of massive tree trunks levitate and orbit around him. Kai raises a hand and the huge pieces of wood fly into the air before falling back down at a lightning fast pace.

He flicks his fingers and one tree trunk dissolves into cinders, burning dust of wood like fireflies in the night. The next tree inwardly implodes into tiny shards before disappearing into an invisible vortex created by Kai's fingers turning round and round and round, like a puppet master. The last tree is about to smash into the ground when Kai turns his outstretched palm toward it stopping its downward motion. With a lazy wave of his hand, the tree trunk travels back to its original place, roots digging back into the soil.

He tilts his head to the side, cracking his neck and only then does it look like he senses her presence. He turns to welcome her and his words seem to die on his lips as he takes in her appearance. Bonnie flushes against his stare, heat pooling low, low in her belly and she makes a mental note to stop listening to Caroline.

She feels compelled to speak when she sees him raise his eyebrows in surprise, "No need to say anything, I was at a party and had no time to change so please keep your comments to yourself.", she ends her tirade with an annoyed huff.

Kai offers a cheeky smile, shrugging, "I didn't say anything. And trust me, I'm not complaining"

Bonnie shoots him what she hopes is the sharpest glare in her arsenal and Kai chuckles, raised hands placating. He goes to fish something in his black coat's left pocket and retrieves the 1903 ascendant.

"First order of business," he announces, approaching. He stops a breath away from her, making her lift her head to meet his eyes, and hands her the key to Mama Salvatore's prison. "As promised", he says and Bonnie takes the ascendant, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Just like that?", she frowns at the curve of his mouth, her eyes lingering a bit too long on his lower lip before reverting back to his face and he acquiesces, shrugging.

"Just like that. You've helped me build the prison so you get the ascendant. Seems fair. Although I still need to borrow your magic this one last time".

Bonnie nods and puts the artefact in her purse. She feels the familiar warm tingle on her skin, his stare grazing her cheek and she debates on meeting his eyes or deflecting. Against her better judgment, she chooses the former and looks up.

Wrong move, Bonnie.

She swallows thickly, suppressing a shiver when she meets his darkened pupils. Kai looks at her like she's a puzzle he can't quite put into place, although there is no mistaking the hunger lurking behind his warm gaze, making her body respond and ache for the kind of touch she has been deprived for so long.

The world seems to still, before an onslaught of sensations come rushing through, the wild thump of her heart, the canorous whispers of the wind, his scent tickling her nostrils. She blinks and a smirk plays on Kai's lips, breaking the moment. Relief comes first but Bonnie cringes more at the disappointment churning her belly as he turns and treads back toward the center of the clearing.

Kai lifts his head assessing the full moon and looks down back to the ground. He lifts a finger and paints a witch's circle in the air, a larger copy tracing itself in the dirt. Bonnie deposes her purse on the ground and silently joins him at the center of the circle, moonlight casting its silver glow over them.

She takes his proffered hands and decidedly locks determined pupils with his, purposely not letting him get the better of her. She closes her eyes before he does and lets the anticipation tighten her stomach, readying her for the upcoming adrenaline rush.

She welcomes the wave of power with a contented sigh as Kai's chant joins the tune of her beating heart and it isn't long before she speaks his words, letting them roll off of her tongue, making them hers. Wind rises, and a cold breeze first embraces them, before ripening into forceful gusts, a maelstrom of leaves and burned wood whirling around them .

It doesn't hurt this time, the spirit of the moon settling into her veins, Nature's hands rooting her to the earth, Kai's touch anchoring her to the world. This spell is not a construct or a formula. It lives and breathes, it takes root in the space between both of their magic, gets watered into life by the elements, grows and grows and evolves and develops into its final form.

Bonnie exhales sharply when their chant stops, the taut strings of her magic relinquishing their control over her body, wind cast away by the silence draping over them, only disturbed by the faint whispers of their breathing.

She feels Kai open his eyes, warmth spreading over her skin, but chooses to keep hers closed, making the most of this feeling of power and connection to the threads and fabric of the world. The last time she's felt that powerful, that undeniable force buzzing through her veins, crackling her bones, the moment was short lived. She'd tried to revive Jeremy and the apex of that spell had been as exhilarating as deadly.

The slight pressure of Kai's fingers against the back of her hand brings her back to a reality she's more and more eager to escape. At long last, she opens her eyes, a rare genuine smile curving her lips and she relishes the flutter in her stomach when Kai matches her smile with a grin of his own.

She does it then.

She kisses him.

Bonnie disentangles her hands from his, stands on her tiptoes and brings his face closer to press her lips to his. He doesn't respond right away, only taking a sharp intake of breath, and rubs his nose against hers, inhaling her scent.

And then he crashes his lips against hers, engulfing her mouth in a devouring kiss. Bonnie parts her lips, letting his tongue slide in, and shivers against the brush of his tongue against hers, Kai deepening the kiss, exploring her mouth with barely restrained hunger.

She lets out a gasp when he lifts her up, his fingers catching the bare skin of her thighs and she rakes her nails through the back of his head, his buzzed hair pricking her palms. He backs her up against a tree, their bodies pressing further into each other, their thudding hearts beating in unison wildly against their ribcage.

Kai sucks on her tongue and her legs almost give out, and she responds in kind. Bonnie swallows a moan when he flicks his tongue on the roof on her mouth, tickling the tender area and driving her utterly insane.

Kai drags his lips away from hers, nibbling and sucking on the tender flesh of her jaw and Bonnie whimpers against the touch of his fingers sliding under her dress, one hand gripping her ass and the other kneading and caressing its path toward the bundle of nerves under her panties.

She clenches his waist between her legs and bites his neck when he pushes the fabric of her panties and brushes a thumb on the soft skin of her clitoris. He hisses against the indent of her teeth on his skin and forcefully claims her mouth again; swallowing her cries as his thumb lazily strokes her inner lips, tightening her belly more and more, making the delicious ache curl her toes.

Her body burns.

She touches the stubble on his jaw that had her fingers itching these past few weeks, and sighs as Kai licks that spot at the hollow of her throat.

Her mind however screams for her to stop when she feels his fingers part her inner lips, ready to enter.

Bonnie instinctively catches his wrist and meets his suddenly befuddled dark eyes, hooded by desire.

"Stop", she croaks out, panting. Her gaze flickers to his face, taking in Kai's swollen lips, dilated pupils and disheveled appearance.

I did that, she thinks proudly.

She doesn't have time to revel in that feeling as an onslaught of guilt comes to battle the pulsating want making her lower belly throb and her panties wet.

"What?", Kai asks not understanding.

"Stop … I shouldn't have done that", she replies, still out of breath.

Kai lets out a frustrated groan, his face resting in the crook of her throat, leaning on her shoulder.

They breathe hard, trying to regain a semblance of composure, and Bonnie is torn between laughing at her compromising position and crying against her damn conscience. She tries to reign on the ache still burning low in her belly but it is made difficult with Kai's fingers still massaging the skin of her thighs.

"Put me down, Kai", she all but stammers, goosebumps skittering on her body with his warm breath tickling her skin.

He straightens enough for her to meet his stare, her hands gripping his neck for balance, his clenched jaw letting her know she's not the only one having difficulty getting her body under control.

"Why?", he asks

It's her turn to raise her eyebrows, surprised etched on the lines of her face

"First, those shorts. Then this dress. And then you act all flustered, you kiss me, you drive me fucking insane and then you stop. If I didn't know any better I'd think you're trying to distract me. Which, … good job, consider me thoroughly distracted", he says, eyes boring into hers, pinning her to the spot.

She can't let him get the better of her. She can't allow it.

"Put me down, Kai" she repeats, tone firm

Kai only barks out a frustrated laugh, "Stubborn as ever I see", he challenges, eyes turning hard.

"And you need to put me down", Bonnie fires back, voice steady.

They lock eyes for a moment, frustration, anger and disbelief slowly replacing that scorching tension still burning their bodies. Kai's stare turns blank and Bonnie feels the loss of its warmth, averting her gaze. He slowly lowers her to the ground and relief washes over her.

She can't look at him, won't acknowledge the searing mark his gaze leaves on her skin. She only picks her purse and runs out of his sight.

Her mind is a mess and her body is rebelling against the loss of sensations, crying for a release during the drive home as she speeds to the safety of her room.

She almost laughs at Caroline's wide eyes when she enters their dorm, frazzled and trembling, and it's only after a hot shower that her heart rate tentatively goes back to a more normal pace.

"What happened?" Caroline asks, and, not for the first time, Bonnie is relieved by Elena's absence as she recounts her, god she doesn't even know how to call it, her sort of meeting with Kai.

"Oh my god", Caroline shrieks, bouncing with excitement, "What did you do then?"

"I ran", Bonnie lets out, cringing against the mental image of out of her depth Bonnie Bennett running away from Kai Parker

Caroline pauses, puzzled, "Please tell me you mean metaphorically"

"No Caroline, I literally ran away from him"

"Seriously?", Caroline snickers and when Bonnie sends her an indignant look, the blond vampire cannot hold her cackle any longer.

A few heartbeats pass, and Bonnie joins her fit of hysterical laughter.

"God, you're a mess", Caroline says gleefully, ruffling Bonnie's hair.

She snorts. Yup, she was a total mess.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

The waves ripple on his skin and he welcomes the soothing rhythm of the water against his body. Kai makes a turn, his feet pushing against the wall of Whitmore's swimming pool, his strokes slicing through the blue liquid. He swims to get his body under control again, his sociopathic side howling in laughter for getting played so easily by that crafty little Bennett witch.

_She got you good. Look at you, can't even think about her without wanting to jerk off._

Kai sighs, swimming another lap before surrendering to his aching limbs, floating in the water. His mind goes back to that kiss and Bonnie being so pliant under his touch, ready to jump his bones earlier in the woods. He's got to have her. That much is certain.

Especially now, with his Father on his way to confront him. Mystic Falls will be a bloody battleground after he takes care of daddy dearest and his followers. She will have to come with him when all her so called friends die in the cross fire. Battles between witches rarely went without heavy collateral damage.

Kai pushes his body down, sinking deeper into the pool, holding his breath. The water whooshes around him, sound muffled, and he feels his muscles relax. He needs to think, add her to his plans and he senses Malachai Parker pace in his cage, snickering against that one weakness that is dangerously becoming a liability.

_Whatever happens, don't you dare lower your guard. I swear to god, there's no way I'm letting you get us killed just because you can't control yourself around her. You promised you'll let me out. You promised you'll let me hurt him like he hurt us._

Kai smiles. He swims back to the surface and gets out of the pool. He puts his clothes back on and heads back home, passing the body of the guard he'd previously knocked out.

Of course, he will let Malachai out when the time comes. That side of him has kept him alive for 18 years and is the only thing ruthless enough to get the best of Joshua Parker.

But weaknesses can become strengths in time. And Bonnie was nothing if not strong.

They could be unstoppable with their combined power and Kai feels excitement bubble at the prospect of one day calling Bonnie his.

The sociopath was right though.

He was absolutely fucking whipped.

xxxoOoxxx

 

all mistakes are mine


	5. Chapter 5

The street bustles with harried students, running to classes or their dorms while trying to catch a snack on the way. The café Bonnie's standing in front of is home to titters, hushed conversations or loud cackles as silhouettes go in and out in a canvas of blurry colors and faces. She lets the brouhaha in, trying to cast away whispers of sweet insanity, laced in Kai's voice, memories of strangled whimpers and heavy breathing that have been plaguing her since he got the best of her that night in the woods. _Again_ , she thinks, annoyed.

Bonnie tried to pin what happened on being drunk on magic, on a temporary lapse in sanity, but she has to admit that it has been too long, way too long, since she has been touched like that and looked at that way. And she was weak enough to fall for it.

Now she's meeting his sister, while glimpses of his features keep flickering in her mind, taunting her ever crumbling resolve.

Bonnie heaves a weary sigh, tightening her coat around her body, as another autumnal breeze chafes at her cheeks, and scans the neighborhood, waiting for Jo. It isn't long before the statuesque beauty with warm blue eyes, where his are purposely assessing, waves at her, fast approaching. Bonnie has difficulty regarding this woman as the twin to the trickster that has everyone on pins and needles, fearing his unpredictability.

She wills any thought of Kai away, and forces a smile on her lips, welcoming Jo.

"Hey Bonnie, sorry I'm late. Had to discharge a couple of patients," Jo huffs a breath and locks bright eyes with hers.

"No problem, I just got here."

She notices Jo looking around, before meeting her eyes again, eyebrows raised, "Where are Elena and Caroline?"

"Elena had to finish a project for Uni and Caroline is stuck with Stefan so I guess it's only me," Bonnie answers with a shrug.

Jo only watches her more carefully. "Is everything alright?" the doctor asks, eyes piercing and Bonnie eyes widen ever so slightly as Jo's gaze and deceptively calm posture echo those of her twin brother and she is reminded of that filial bond making them two almost mirror images of each other.

"Well, I suppose, considering…" Bonnie tentatively replies and Jo lets out an apprehensive breath. She gestures toward the café and they both make their way into the warm embrace of coffee aromas tinted with cigarette and sweet flavors of freshly cooked food.

They choose a table in the far right corner, behind the pool table. Jo doesn't say anything and neither does Bonnie until they make their orders and wait for the bubbly blond waitress to leave.

"So, Elena and Caroline were never supposed to come right? It was just you and I," Jo states, head tilted, studying her.

Bonnie tries to suppress another flash of Parker grey eyes and nods, "Perceptive, I see."

"I try," Jo answers with a faint curve of her lips and Bonnie's features falter for a moment, at the sense of déjà vu.

"What's up? What did my brother do this time?" Jo asks, eyes trained on her

Bonnie cannot hold back her frown, elicited by the light tone of Jo's answer, belying the violent history between her and Kai. "You still call him brother? After everything he's done to you?"

She can see Jo's posture slightly stiffen, her blue eyes sharpening at her words and Bonnie curses under her breath, ruing the judgmental timbre that colored her question.

"What happened to me and Kai stays between my brother and I," Jo offers as curt reply, "and from what I have gathered the only reason he's still here is because your friends requested his help."

Bonnie averts her gaze, effectively chastised. She thinks back to her spur of the moment decision to contact Jo. Memories of that night in the woods fueled that nagging voice in her head - that instinct, incremental to a witch's essence, which never failed to pass the veracity test – pushing against the resentment she clung to.

The need for revenge on Kai was the compass that helped navigate the tumultuous waters of her daily life since coming back from that other dimension. But now, her mind was a mess of questions tangled with fears as she gets closer and closer to that dreaded finish line with him, perhaps as the main instigator of his demise.

That's where Jo is supposed to come in. She just needs to be sure. She needs to be sure before not being able to stop what she has already helped put into motion.

"What's the matter with my brother, Bonnie?" Jo's words tear her from her thoughts and Bonnie lets out a wary sigh, meeting the liquid blue gaze assessing her.

"I need to know if I can trust you," she replies, peering at Jo with renewed steel.

Jo seems to recoil from her answer, leaning back against her chair, brows furrowed. "What makes you think you can't?"

"Well, first, how come my Grams never told me about you? I don't remember ever seeing you in Mystic Falls." She cannot and doesn't feel much like ironing out the sharp edges of her reply. She watches as Jo grimaces, blue pupils momentarily lured to the ribbons of sunlight passing through.

The Parker brunette lets what seems like buried memories flicker through. Her stare turns blank, almost like Kai's during the fleeting moments where he told her about his past, and she looks up back to her.

"Your Grams took me in after locking Kai up, she helped me escape my family. But I didn't stay long, I left when you were 5, I just had my bachelor degree and I went to Med school. Plus, my dad started looking for me again and the problems between your mom and Sheila… I decided it was best to leave."

"You knew my mother?" Bonnie croaks the words out with difficulty, purposely evading Jo's softening gaze.

"A bit, yeah," Jo replies, almost in a wistful whisper. She huffs a laugh, remnants of forgotten days tipping the corners of her lips up in nostalgia. "We both never really enjoyed being witches, not like your Grams did. So I guess we bonded over that."

"Why did she hate having magic?" Bonnie asks, surprise furrowing her brows.

"Being a witch… it affects you in every way, and everyone around you. Your magic grows with you and is shaped by every event happening to you. And we were confronted to things … horrors that no one should have to face at such a young age. I had to survive my family's tradition and the violence of it. Your mum had to go through taking down the first original, and sacrificing her family for that."

Bonnie nods, swallowing thickly to will away the burning liquid pooling behind her eyes. She lets Jo's words settle in her mind, allowing her heart to regain its normal cadence. A sense of despondency weighs heavy on her shoulders, echoing the hole in her that will never truly be made whole.

"My Grams never told me about magic, about my heritage. She only let me know when it was too late, when supernaturals already started wreaking havoc in the town. She should have prepared me for this, she should have taught me way before," she lets out, the after taste of resentment leaving its bitter trace on her tongue.

"After what happened to your mother, I guess she wanted to protect you, like she protected me," Jo answers.

"I look after my own first," Bonnie states, meeting Jo's gaze, "That's what she used to say."

"And she spent her life doing just that," Jo added with a faint smile that Bonnie mirrors with her own more jaded version.

A few heartbeats pass, both seemingly letting the wave of wistfulness touched with a tinge of sadness wash over them. The waitress comes with their orders and Jo thanks her with a curve of her cherry lips, seemingly waiting for her to leave. When the steps of the blonde student echo away, Jo turns renewed assessing eyes toward her and Bonnie feels its laden weight on her.

"Now," Jo starts, "I have answered your questions. I think it's time you answer mine."

The older woman peers at Bonnie before adding, "What is going on? And what does it have to do with my brother?"

Bonnie takes a sip from her latte and meets her gaze, her story ready. "Your brother is trying to exact revenge on your father. We both know that it will lead to chaos and people will be hurt. I need to make sure that my friends and I, hell, even the town, are not caught in the crossfire. As a former member of the Gemini, I figured you would know something that could protect us from being collateral damage. A spell, a talisman, anything"

She waits, apprehension churning her belly and watches as Jo narrows her eyes before lifting the red mug to her lips, swallowing her black coffee. Her blue pupils wander off to a couple of rowdy students playing pool just in front of them. As silence stretches on, Bonnie's patience wears thin, prompting her to use her guilt card, "My Grams saved you and protected you from your family. I think it's only fair you return the favor and help protect me and this town"

Her words elicit the long awaited response from Jo, as the doctor smirks, sending another flash of Kai Parker to burn through Bonnie's psyche. "How very Sheila Bennett of you," she replies at long last.

"I look after my own first," Bonnie fires back.

Jo only snorts. She takes another sip of her coffee, eyes still lured by the pool table. Bonnie loses all hope when the quiet is broken by the doctor's beeper signaling for an emergency. She lets out a despondent sigh when she sees Jo stand, putting on her coat and gathering her things.

The older woman is about to pass her when she stops in her tracks, looking back down at Bonnie's questioning eyes. "The witch's name is Astrid Barnes. She lives in Falls Church, not far from here. Her spell is the only warding potent enough to withstand my family's magic. You need to bring her something as payment."

Relief washes over Bonnie, "Thank you." She lets out, almost breathless, "Thank you so much"

"Yeah, well, let's hope it won't come to that" Jo replies, "See you at the wedding I guess"

Bonnie nods, offering a genuine smile, "Of course. No bachelorette, apparently."

"No, Rick and I are both way too old and busy for this." Jo replies. Bonnie watches as the brunette lingers, eyes still assessing her; it makes her features falter, her smile cast away..

"Just so you know," Jo states, a familiar blank veil dimming the blue in her eyes. "Kai will be attending the wedding."

This time Bonnie controls her surprise, not allowing any emotion to color her voice, "Oh. So you did invite him."

"Yes, I did. He's still my brother. And he seems … different now"

"Do you think he's really changed?" There it was. The million dollar question. The one she needed the answer most to.

"I don't know," Jo replies and Bonnie can feel the fingers of disappointment gripping her heart and smothering tighter and tighter. "But I know he won't hurt me. Not this time."

"Well let's hope so," Bonnie nods, a parody of a smile playing on her lips.

"You don't have to come … if you don't feel comfortable with him being there," Jo tentatively offers but Bonnie shakes her head, infusing warmth in her gaze, "I will be there. If anything happens, you need all the back-up you can get"

"True," Jo acquiesces with a parting smile and waves her goodbye.

Bonnie watches her leave the café, trying to make sense of the whirlwind raging through her mind. She's even more at a loss than before. She still has no idea where she stands regarding Kai, especially after his sister's not so subtle protectiveness over him, throwing her out of another loop and blurring her bloodied memories of that May colored world she was stuck with him in.

She shakes her head, willing some strength into her heart. She has the name she came looking for. Astrid Barnes. Hopefully, her price will not be too steep, although Jo made it clear that Gemini magic was hard to counter.

No matter, she will get that spell. And protect herself this time.

This time, sacrifice on her part will not be an option.

Her friends and this town will have to find another expiatory victim to turn to.

_I look after my own first._

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

The red dots are akin to blood spatters on a white fabric. Kai studies the map, and the dots, urging his eyes to decipher the invisible pattern connecting these lines, providing him with the answer that seems to evade him.

"He's been moving a lot." Soe Yun's voice echoes from his phone, filling the room.

Kai takes a swig from his beer, shivering at the breeze filtering through the window. It dries up some of the water droplets clinging to his skin, remainders of the shower he just took. The cold fingers of autumn leave a trail of goose bumps over his bare body, the towel wrapped around his waist as his only shield.

"Yeah, it's like he's messing with us. There's no logic to his movements," Kai replies.

"Your dad was always one for petty mind games"

"As long as he doesn't show up for that damn wedding, I'm good. He can teleport his way to his own asshole, for all I care," Kai replies, chugging the last of his beer and throwing the empty bottle in the trash.

Soe Yun's laughter reverberates in the room while Kai puts a pair of jeans, a t shirt and a grey hoodie on.

"Well, the marriage is in 5 days and he's now in Seattle. No doubt, trying to sway your crazy fuck of an uncle into helping him get you killed."

"Good thing I got to sweet uncle Jeremiah first. He should keep him there for a week at least," he replies and takes the map, reflection of his father movements, and pins it on the wall across from his bed. A reminder of how close he is to achieving the goal he set out 18 years ago.

"So Jo's getting married, huh?" Soe Yun asks and Kai doesn't miss the weight of unuttered questions in her voice.

"Seems like it," he picks his phone and goes to sit on his bed, eyes trained on those red points, taunting him, daring him to find the hidden patterns they are a part of.

"Who's the dude?"

"Some fucking loser."

Soe Yun snickers and he smiles. "Yeah, your sister was never good at picking the right guy for her."

"And whose fault is that?" Kai retorts, unwanted memories forcing their way through his mind, making his grip on the phone tighten.

"Well, good thing you'll get your revenge then. It's only fair after what he did to you and sweet little Jo." Soe Yun lets out in a fake comforting tone before adding, genuine excitement brightening her voice. "And I will have that final piece I've been searching for."

"Selfish as always."

"My selfishness is the main thing that will keep you alive," she replies, snickering.

"And I won't forget that," Kai snorts, shaking his head at his childhood friend's antics.

"You better not," Soe Yun quips and cuts the call off.

Kai huffs out a laugh and tosses the phone on his bed. Hunger chews at his stomach while another form of want, fueled by memories of a certain Bennett witch, keeps running its burning blade through his heart, sending a sweet ache to pool and sear low, low in his belly.

With a last glance to the map, he goes down to the kitchen to at least pacify the hungering he has some control over with a quick lunch.

Lunch eaten, dishes washed, teeth brushed and black coat on, he heads out of the house, the warm rays of a bleeding sun crowning over the horizon welcoming him. He revs up his car and drives to Jo's apartment.

His sister wanted a last family meeting before her wedding to make sure her special day won't end in a bloodbath. Which was a pretty sound idea as Kai was pretty sure Liv would try to kill him on sight. He can't blame her, really. If anyone, besides him, ever harms Jo, he doesn't know to what lengths he will go to make them pay. Scratch that, he knows. His twin sister is his mirror image, the reflection of what he should have been instead of the defective copy he was born as. Hurting her meant hurting him. And his Father was the first to understand that and use that knowledge to his advantage.

Kai swerves right and enters Jo's neighborhood. She asked to meet at her apartment instead of the one she's sharing with Alaric. Good call. The last thing he needs is to spend the meeting staring at her baby boo's rat face and stamping down the urge to gouge his eyes out.

He crackles his neck, easing the tension that has started spreading like poison into his limbs. He mentally runs through his plan again, trying to come up with contingencies he might not have thought about. The task is made difficult when flickers of Bonnie, whimpering Bonnie – eyes closed, desire twisting her features, mouth open in a moan – keep assaulting his mind, making his inner Malachai groan in annoyance.

_Get a fucking grip, will you? It's almost embarrassing._

Kai smiles.

At least, he can always count on that side of him to keep him focused. He welcomes that peculiar mix of anticipation and apprehension, injected with a touch of adrenaline. That familiar feeling coursing through his veins every time he sets a trap and has to wait for his prey. He has been working on this very trap for almost two decades.

He looks up and sees the lines of Jo's building in the far distance. He speeds up, the walls of the houses turning into a blur of colors and he makes another turn, left this time, before easing his car into a parking spot, near his sister's apartment.

Kai makes quick work of the stairs, smirking at a neighbor that seems to like what she sees as he passes her to knock on his sister's door. The apprehensive look Jo welcomes him with lets him know Liv's already there. He can feel her cold anger before he sees her.

"Hey Livvie Poo," he says in a sing song tone when he enters the living room and finds a little ball of blonde wrath standing, offensive spell at the ready, waiting for him. The dark beast inside him raises its head, starving for chaos, and goes to rattle against the bars of its cage.

"Go fuck yourself, Kai," Liv lets out through gritted teeth as sparkles start to crackle in her palm.

Jo quickly goes to stand between them both arms outstretched, akin to a referee in a boxing match.

"Okay now listen. This is my home and there will be no fighting here. If you two can't have a civil conversation, then you can go kill yourselves outside. And no need to come to my wedding," Jo states, tone brooking no argument, eyes turning clear as ice. She turns to Kai, "And you, you shut the fuck up and keep your quips to yourself. You're the reason this family is a mess."

Kai's eyes sharpen, but Jo doesn't back down. He offers a snide smirk, raising his hand, placating. "I won't do anything, as long as that brat doesn't try anything."

"That brat will kill you on the spot if you don't shut your trap," Liv fires back, fury distorting her cherubic features. She turns to Jo, indignation simmering in her blue eyes, "How could you have him here? Invite him to your wedding? After what he's done to you and to our family. He killed Luke." Her voice cracks as the name of her deceased twin brother stumbles out of her mouth and another wave of cold fury fills the room, making the lights flicker dangerously.

Jo sends a venomous glare towards Kai and turns to Liv, slowly approaching. "Liv, please," Jo softly whispers, engulfing her baby sister's hands into her own. It's his cue to leave the space whose walls seem to close in on him. Kai heads toward the kitchen, letting out a weary sigh.

The harsh whispers of Liv and Jo's conversation come to tickle his ears and he swallows thickly, as the memento of Luke's dead eyes, his face cradled between Jo's palms, the sound of his sister's sobs, rushes back in, invading his psyche. He grimaces as guilt squeezes his heart harder and harder.

Fucking feelings.

_Tell me about it, man. At least, you're not the one caged because of them._

Kai snorts and shakes his head, willing logic back in to wave away all those pieces of recollection that make him lose focus.

He rummages through the kitchen's cupboards, setting water to boil and starts making tea and sandwiches, settling his mind on simple tasks to keep from thinking too much. The whispers from the living room turn quiet and Kai waits for a moment before putting the dishes on a tray and heading back to his sisters.

He schools his features into a blank mask, reining in any dark humor he would have used to diffuse the tension, reverts his voice to an emotionless tone and steps into the living room. "Made tea," he announces, cringing a little at the pair of ocean blue eyes trained on him. "Figured you'd be hungry after all this."

The silence answering him is almost deafening.

It is only broken by the guffaws of Malachai inside him, howling in laughter, mocking him.

He goes to set the tray on the table in front of the couch where Jo and Liv are sitting and takes a seat in the far right corner of the room, leaving enough space for both his sisters to feel less on edge. He turns his eyes to Jo, purposely ignoring Liv's hate-filled stare burning his right temple. If looks could kill, he would be missing half a brain right now. He stifles a sigh, waiting for his twin sister to mediate between the three of them.

Jo exhales harshly, tightening her grip on Liv's hands. "We're here because I invited you both to my wedding and I don't want any catastrophe happening there-"

"The only catastrophe is him being born," Liv cuts Jo's words icily.

Kai swallows a snide reply, ruling his body under control.

"I know we are supposed to hate each other," Jo resumes her peace offering, "but we will have to talk as a family, better to do it now and see if we can at least stay in the same room together for my wedding. If we can't, then so be it. At least I've tried."

"Why is he even here?" Liv asks, trying hard not to raise her tone. "He massacred our brothers and sisters and killed the most important person in my life. Why is he here, Jo?"

Jo meets his stare and Kai takes a sharp intake of breath. "I wanted to apologize," he answers.

Liv snorts, her snickers ripening into a humorless laugh, as she doesn't spare him a glance. "He doesn't even know what that word means. That sick fuck doesn't even know how much he's hurt everyone. Don't tell me you've fallen for it?" She turns to Jo, urging her to see her truth.

Guilt squeezes his heart tighter and clogs his throat.

"I see their faces every day," he confesses, tone soft.

"Stop lying," Liv spits back at him, incandescent aquamarine pupils shooting daggers at him.

"I do. Apparently, a side effect from the merge. I get to feel things. I don't expect you to trust me but here it is. I feel guilt every second of every day. I see their faces … Brian, Joey, Sarah, Claire," he pauses, inhaling another sharp breath. Dead blue eyes. "Luke," he lets out, his chest constricted.

He raises his head, looking up at a suspicious, yet silent, Liv. "Look, I know you hate me and you have every reason to. I don't expect you to forgive me or even to understand. I just want to be part of Jo's wedding and not have to fight you for it."

Silence stretches and Kai frowns against this long lost feeling that hasn't stirred his heart for a long time. Fear. True, pure, unbridled fear.

Liv lets out a mocking laugh and fear becomes loss. "Do you really thing I'm that stupid? Maybe you got Jo deceived but I am not. And even if what you say is true, I hope that guilt eats you up inside until you can't breathe anymore. It's the least you deserve."

Kai nods, clenching his jaw, trying to make sense of that feeling of defeat weighing heavy on his shoulders.

"Hey," Jo calls for Liv's attention, raising a palm to affectionately stroke her sister's cheek, and Kai wonders how long it has been since someone did that to him. "You're the only sister I have left and I want you by my side at my wedding. If you don't want him to be there, just say the word."

Kai's heart clenches again, making it harder to breathe. And he thought being around Bonnie was hard.

The pregnant pause waiting for Liv's answer is torture, as though time's threads elongated themselves, as if fate has flipped a coin waiting to see if Kai's curse to be forsaken to isolation in this world or another is to be made permanent. He can almost hear the wild thudding of his heart against his ribcage, tempo increasing as Liv remains quiet.

She doesn't look at him, only gathers Jo's palms in her hands. The words come as a whisper, one that Kai strains to hear. "He stays far away from me, he doesn't talk to me and I don't want to see him. If he does anything I will take him out." Liv warns, facing Jo, her back to him.

Jo nods and kisses her cheek as a thank you while Kai lets relief wash over him, drowning out his senses. He feels like in a bubble, as if protected by water, the sounds muffled as he watches Jo and Liv stand, not sparing him any glance, as if he wasn't there, and head toward the apartment entrance.

The door closing shut brings him back to reality but he doesn't move, his body remaining still, seated on the chair. Jo comes back in, and peers at him, tired features betraying her relief. "What, no snide remark or stupid joke?" she asks mockingly.

He only sends her a glare, barking out a laugh. "Do you have anything to drink?"

Jo smirks and goes to retrieve a bottle of wine and two glasses. She fills a glass and hands it to him before doing the same for herself. Kai raises an eyebrow at her half full glass and Jo shrugs, "Just for the occasion. It won't hurt the pregnancy."

She goes to seat on the couch as he downs his drink in one gulp. He doesn't miss her puzzled look but doesn't feel like engaging in any mind games this time. He goes to pick up the wine bottle, refilling his glass and turns back to sit on the chair.

"Well, that went well, considering…" Jo tentatively starts, eyeing him.

He shrugs, taking another long sip of wine.

"Careful, aren't you supposed to drive back home?" she asks.

"Well, I can always get killed in a car crash and you guys can throw a party. Kai's gone, at last," he says spitefully.

"You are a fucking murderer Kai. If you think just because you suddenly, _supposedly_ , can feel guilt, the people you hurt will magically forgive you … Well you have another thing coming," Jo spits back at him, icily.

Kai sighs, swallowing another apology, cursing against the tug of war waged in his heart, literally tearing him apart.

"Point taken," he says, taking another swig of wine. He needs to get drunk, and then have sex. Or both. He'll have to call one of his one night stands when he goes back home. Anything to get out of reality, if at least temporarily.

Jo takes a sip, watching him warily. He snorts, "Relax, Josette. I'm not getting drunk here."

"Good," she replies, settling more comfortably on the couch. Kai senses wisps of hesitance simmer from her and waits.

"I met Bonnie today." Jo states, her damn piercing eyes assessing his reaction. He keeps his features unaffected, although the rush of alcohol makes it difficult to rein in his body.

"Really? Since when are you guys friends?"

"Well, I knew her Grams very well."

"Figures," he mutters, nestling into the chair. He doesn't say anything, swirling his wine as if in thought. If Jo wanted him to know anything, she will let him. No need to seem eager and reveal too much.

"We talked about you," his sister adds, after a beat. Kai smirks.

"Let me guess she told you how flawless my new look was. I gotta admit, I like the new haircut. Makes me look like a James Bond villain."

"Oh please, cut the crap," Jo snickers and Kai laughs. "She was scared for her safety and her friends'. She doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire between you and Father."

Kai huffs a laugh, eyes narrowing at the sting of disappointment at Bonnie still seeing him as a threat. "Smart girl," he replies, drinking some more wine, letting the burn alleviate the bitter aftertaste.

"Yeah, well. Can you make sure you will not level the town when facing Dad? The last thing we need is more blood on our hands," Jo states, setting her glass on the table and picking one of the sandwiches he brought.

"I'll try." He promises half-hearted. _This wretched town won't know what will be coming at them_ , he thinks with venom. "On the bright side, he won't be here for your wedding. So you can marry your baby boo with no interference."

"Small victories," Jo answers nibbling at the sandwich. Quiet drapes over the room, both of them in thought. Kai stifles a smile when he notices Jo wolfing on the food he made, leaving the plate almost empty. The stretched fabric of her sweater betrays how far along she is, reminding him that she was actually eating for two.

_Or three._

A thought forms into his mind, and he finishes his glass before sharing it with Jo. As if on cue, his sister looks up, "What are you going to do, after you get rid of him?" she asks.

Kai grins. That special sibling bond was the true definition of magic.

"About that, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he replies, warm eyes meeting her questioning ones.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

Bonnie is horny.

There's no way of going around it. Her body has been telling her this for the past 3 days. Oh she's been horny before. But not like this.

Most times magic was a pretty good alternative. Although its special brand of ecstasy is … different and doesn't completely do the trick. Sex toys are great but don't have hands and sometimes require way too much work or even logistics.

And truth be told, continually stumbling on Damon and Elena having sex was not helping extinguish the fire burning low in her belly.

She's actually starting to think he's put a spell on her since that night. Or a hex. That's the only explanation she can accept.

Damn him.

"Ugh," she groans, resting her face on the table as Caroline snickers. The library is quiet, most students in classes by now. Precisely the reason why both friends decided to go there and catch up on their courses. College life has no time for supernatural extracurricular activities.

"What now?" her blonde friend asks.

Bonnie looks up, pouting, "I want sex"

Caroline guffaws, her features brightening. "Then go get it"

"You're not helping," Bonnie deadpans, reverting her face back against the table.

She hears Caroline sigh, closing her book. "How long has it been since you got any?" she asks, her tone telling Bonnie her friend has switched into Oprah mode.

She turns to meet the blonde woman's warm baby blues. She locks eyes with her and a few heartbeats pass. When realization dawns on Caroline, she lets out a slow whistle. "Wow … that long?"

Bonnie groans again, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No wonder you've been cranky all this time, hell bent on revenge and what not."

"Oh come on, Care," Bonnie replies, indignant.

Her friend raises her palms, placating. "I'm just saying."

"Definitely not helping," Bonnie quips. "Forget I said anything"

"Okay, okay," Caroline amends, "but if you want my advice, well, it's just an itch that you have to scratch."

Bonnie narrows her eyes and Caroline rolls hers in response. "Come on, don't be such a prude. If not him, then find a guy, imagine it's him and let that guy fuck your brains out. It does wonders to help you refocus. Trust me, I speak from experience."

Bonnie pouts again, however mulling over her friend's words. She feels Caroline's stare on her as the blonde vampire leans in. "And I know the exact place where you could pick a guy," she adds, a lopsided grin curving her lips.

"Where?" Bonnie asks, still suspicious.

"There's a party tonight, near Whitmore. Can be a good hunting ground"

"Oh joy, drunk frat boys that will try to roofie me," Bonnie replies with a fake cheery voice

"I'm sure we can find one or two of them who'd like to have sex sober. Come on Bon, work with me here."

"Alright, only if you're my wing-woman." Bonnie smiles as Caroline squeals in delight, clapping her hands together like a little child offered her favorite sweets. "Where's this party again?"

"You'll see," is her vampire friend's reply.

And yeah, she saw.

The party is held in a huge loft with floor to ceiling glass walls, hidden in the nook of a trendy neighborhood near Whitmore. Bless Caroline's heart, what she didn't know is that the trendy loft was a mere 5 minutes away from Kai's house. 5 minutes by foot.

Fuck her luck.

"Do you want to go back home?" Caroline asks, genuine worry seeping from her eyes. "It's just a stupid party. And we can have our own at the dorm."

Bonnie smiles, her heart swelling at her friend's concern. However, the stubborn streak in her strengthens her resolves. She will not let Kai scare her into not enjoying her life. She's going to have fun with her best friend and to hell with his reformed psychotic persona. He has no power over her. Never had. Never will.

After that mental cheer, Bonnie turns to Caroline, takes her hand and leads her into the hullabaloo and chaos of dancing bodies, vibrant colors and heart hammering dance music.

Both girls sway and grind and move their bodies into the rhythmic bass and beat pounding in their ears. Bonnie lets herself go, loosens the stranglehold she has on her senses, trying to release the tension that had taken residence in her body since that night with him. Her magic simmers and tangles with the music, the air crackles as her body bumps and grinds against others, and she becomes one with sounds making her pulse beat in unison with the chorus of notes and melodies buzzing in her ears.

She dances as if these are her last moments, reveling in the feeling of weightlessness, of not having to play savior in a life or death situation, of forgetting for a moment that she was Bonnie Bennett, the girl who will always be stuck in the middle.

Her magic brushes against something familiar and it sends a thrill through her spine. Bonnie closes her eyes, savoring the sparks that shoot at her nerve endings, dancing and bumping hips with Caroline. It brushes against her again, more forcefully and her heart stops. She'd recognize that chaotic aura anywhere.

The music that was thrumming beneath her skin becomes deafening as it pounds violently against her eardrums. The aura gets more uncontrolled, rising in spikes as if sucking the air out of the room before quieting down and releasing strings of magic that reverberate every which way in the large open space.

Bonnie frowns and against her better judgment turns to follow the bursts of power exploding and fizzling into thin air. She worms her way between the swaying bodies and it isn't long before she sees him, dancing with two gorgeous blondes. She watches him letting the music in, as it takes controls of his limbs and his hands circle the waist of one of his dancing partners. The other blonde leans into him and whispers something in his ear and Bonnie sees Kai laugh heartily, a genuine smile brightening his features and she feels the rumble of his laughter right under her skin.

It's like witnessing a car crash.

She knows she should turn and leave, or at least go back to Caroline as it doesn't seem like he's felt her presence. But something in her roots her into place, long enough for him to slowly turn and meet her eyes, laughter disappearing, features faltering before turning into the same look he had for her that night in the woods.

_Shit._

Bonnie's eyes widen and she turns abruptly, weaving her path through the maze of bodies, her heart thudding but not for the music. She rushes out of the loft, welcoming the cold night's air embracing her, like a balm to the burning within her.

She walks to the sidewalk and eases her body into a sitting position on the grey concrete, wrapping her arms around her knees. The delicate fabric of her dress sways with the night's breeze and Bonnie wills the hammering of that dreaded muscle between her ribcage to stop.

She thought she had a handle on things, after meeting his sister the day before, knowing where to go from there and what to do, one of them being to stay far away from him, but fate, luck or whatever higher power seem to just love messing with her head.

A few moments pass and she feels the light touch of his magic tentatively poke at hers. Bonnie releases a slow breath, feeling him approach her, the sound of his steps coming closer and closer behind her. She doesn't move or turn when he sits beside her, their magic quietly mingling, acknowledging each other.

He waves a bottle of water in her peripheral vision and she could kiss him right now just for that. She accepts his offering, repaying him with a faint smile mirrored by his grin.

"You have no idea how hard it was to find these bottles. You know you're with a bunch of alcoholics when it's easier to find vodka than water at these parties."

Bonnie snorts and the tension eases. His magic and hers tangle further with one another and Bonnie feels it settle in her bones.

They drink in silence but it isn't long before as always Kai breaks it.

"Sooo," he starts, stretching the vowel out and snickers when Bonnie rolls her eyes. "You've been avoiding me."

She scoffs and turns indignant eyes towards him only to be met by a cheeky grin. Of course, he did it on purpose so she would look at him, something she has managed not to do since he joined her outside.

Again, damn him.

She narrows her eyes at his chuckle, ignoring the delicious ache fluttering inside her. "I've held my end of the bargain. So we're done. No need to pay you a visit anymore."

"Too bad, I quite liked those visits," Kai's stare burns her skin but she won't be swayed this time, opting instead to take another mouthful of water.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to find someone else to talk to. I'm sure those two blondes are up to the challenge."

Kai answers with another laugh and she curses her body for responding to it. "If I didn't know better I would say you're jealous."

"You wish," she fires back, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, believe me, I really do," he lets out, voice lower, locking eyes with her, unnerving her to no end.

Bonnie huffs her annoyance, piqued at the easy way he gets under her skin. "Look there's a sea of lovely beautiful ladies back there. I'm sure you'll find someone interesting enough."

"Hmm," he snorts, frowning as if mulling on her words. He glances behind at the loft and then back at her. He grins, "I already did."

Bonnie rolls her eyes, turning her gaze away from him. She trains her pupils on the grey asphalt, trying to ignore the wild thuds in her chest.

She hears him chuckle again and hangs to her water bottle for dear life. "I guess we're not going to talk about it, right?" he asks.

"Nope," she replies, ordering her mind to stop sending her memories of that night. Apparently her mind is also ruled by her body as a flash of stubble flickers through and her fingers thrum under the need to graze his.

"Okay then, I guess that's my cue," he adds in a sing song tone. Kai stands, stretching his limbs before stopping right in front of her. She feels his expectant stare slanting over her shoulders, barely covered by her dress. Bonnie steels herself and looks up, meeting his darkened eyes.

"If you ever want to talk about it or ... you know," he pauses, offering a faint smile, "do something else. You know where to find me."

"Don't hold your breath," Bonnie quips eliciting another feral smile.

"Well if you change your mind," he amends, "dot dot dot."

Bonnie snorts and eyes him as he leaves and his silhouette is slowly erased by the dark night. She feels the loss of his aura, the strands of his magic disentangling from hers. The only trace of his presence is the delicious gnawing in her belly, morphing into a hunger she will need to pacify. Bonnie glances again at the street, route towards his home, sensing invisible threads of his aura coaxing her into following them.

She lets a moment pass, trying to listen to her body, find sense in the disorderly emotions making a mess out of her thoughts. Her introspection is however disrupted as she hears the approaching steps of Caroline. "Hey, Bon. Are you ok? You kind of disappeared on me."

Bonnie heaves a sigh, making up her mind. She stands, her turn to stretch her limbs. She turns towards a concerned Caroline, and offers a faint upturn of her lips. "Caroline?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm gonna have sex with Kai."

"Really?" Caroline grins, excited.

"Really," Bonnie lets out and almost chuckles as her friend turns into bridezilla mode.

"Okay, let me check your dress," the blonde vampire instructs, looking her up and down. "Easy to take off, good." She frowns as she scans Bonnie's chest. "Give me your bra," she orders.

"What?"

Caroline wiggles her fingers, expectant palm outstretched. "Trust me, the last thing you want is wasting minutes to unclasp that shit. Gimme," she orders again and Bonnie checks around her before doing just that.

"Okay, you should be good. Now go and fuck his brains out," she cheers, glee dancing in her blue pupils.

Bonnie fixes her with a bewildered look. "You sound like a pimp"

"But I'm your pimp," Caroline adds, winking at her and eliciting another confounded laugh from Bonnie. "Now go, have fun, screw the lights out of him and forget about everything else, ok? Oh my god, my little Bonnie has grown up so fast."

"Caroline," Bonnie warns.

"Ok, ok, just go. And call me after. I want to know all the details."

Bonnie shakes her head, letting out another chuckle, and grins at her best friend. She inhales a strengthening breath and starts walking towards Kai's house. Her heart pounds faster and faster as her steps lead her closer to his home, the now familiar door staring right back at her as she waits for a sign, a portent of fate, telling her to go back home.

Nothing. Just her body screaming at her for its release. So she squares her shoulders and knocks. Her magic already calling for his.

She doesn't wait long before she hears the sound of his footsteps descending the stairs, her heart beating in tune with his movements. He opens the door and Bonnie's eyes find his faint smirk, before taking in his t shirt, loose sweatpants and bare feet.

"Hey," she croaks out.

"Hey back," he replies softly, seemingly stifling a grin. Kai sidesteps, opening the door wider and Bonnie lets herself in the house. She turns to him right after he closes the door, tirade ready.

"So, this is a one-time deal. First and last time. It's just an itch that I need to scratch and then I can go back to hating you and you can go back to whatever." She ends her monologue breathless, also much of it is because Kai has approached her as she was speaking and stands so close, so very close, dark eyes boring into hers.

"Okay" he whispers, leans forward and crashes his lips into hers.

She shivers at the electricity running through her as his hands pull her coat off of her back and he lifts her up, her legs circling his waist. She rakes her hands through his hair, parting the strands with her nails as he sucks her tongue, deepening the kiss.

She feels them moving as he climbs the stairs, while her tongue licks his own, tangles around his, in slow, agonizingly delicious strokes that make her lose sense of gravity. She feels one of his hands at her waist, holding her in place, while the other catches the zipper at the back of her dress and tugs it downwards and she bites his lower lip hard. She shivers when his fingers start running along her bare back and she mentally blesses Caroline for her forethought. She tilts her head to the side, and he claims her mouth again, his tongue caressing hers while the lights around her start to flicker dangerously like fireflies in the night.

The door of his room slams itself open as they enter in a tangle of limbs and entrenched magic swirling around them. Kai lowers her to the floor, tugging the straps of her dress to the side and the fabric brushes against her legs before pooling around her feet. She does the same for him pulling his shirt off of him and he eases her on the bed; surprisingly gentle, her back falling on his mattress.

He kisses her again, swallowing her whimpers as his hands travel the map of her body, discarding her panties, caressing and kneading her skin, leaving a burning imprint on her flesh. He takes her arms and pulls them over her head, as he nibbles at her jaw. Want fogs her mind, but she can make out words of Latin escaping his lips and feels soft ribbons circle her wrists. He licks and bites his way from her jaw down onto the valley of her breasts. She lets out a strangled moan when he brushes a thumb against a nipple. Her breathing turns ragged when he rubs her nipple between his thumb and index and liquid heat burns low in her abdomen,

A curse stumbles out of her lips when he puts one of her breasts into his mouth, sucking the flesh taut while he kneads the other with his palm. His mouth travels lower, pauses over her scar, but really his, nibbles at the uneven flesh, then moves further down and her belly tightens in anticipation as his hands go on massaging and rubbing her breasts before following the trail left by his tongue.

"Oh god," she lets out and something creaks and breaks but she pays it no mind, her body controlled by the stranglehold of pleasure, muscles paralyzed by that delicious ache coursing through her veins. And Kai is so agonizingly slow and thorough and she is racked by another wave of liquid ecstasy when he settles his hands on her inner thighs, spreading her legs apart, and he lowers himself brushing a thumb on that sensitive bundle of nerves.

Glass breaks and she hears him chuckle, unnerving her again. She feels his breath tickle her clitoris and oh god oh god oh god, she cannot rein in the loud "aahh" that escapes her lips when his tongue licks the soft nub once, twice, thrice, making her wet.

Kai's hands grip her thighs tighter, pinning her to the mattress as he laps and sucks and nibbles on her clitoris with the same slow precision and focus he continually uses to assess her thoughts and her moods. She loses all control on her body when he bites at one of her inner lips and follows it by blowing a soft breath over her clit and licks it again.

It doesn't prepare her however for when he enters a finger into her inner folds, lazily rubbing it in and out against her inner walls. Bonnie arcs her back, searching for that connection, that sweet friction again, but his hand keeps her right in place, right where he wants her, and she squiggles and writhes against the gradual rise of pleasure assaulting her senses.

He pushes another finger in and slightly turns his hand and she screams his name as he pumps in and out at a leisure pace and then more frantically until she is on the cusp of the wave, on the edge of the precipice ready to fall. And then he stops and she lets out a salvo of expletives that would shock even Caroline.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she almost shouts, breathless. She feels Kai climb over her body and she levels him with a glare when his face appears over hers. He only grins, wolfish, as a reply before claiming her mouth in another deep kiss, his tongue making her taste her own wetness.

He sucks her lower lip, nibbling it between his teeth and whispers "condom" and she turns her head to see the box hovering in the air. Kai moves out of her vision and it is then that she sees the scars littering his back, dark marks tracing the path of his muscles, ashen jagged lines, burns and cuts, contrasting against his white skin.

Something warm swells in her chest and Bonnie watches as Kai stands and takes off his pants, putting the condom on and reclaims his place over her body. She curses against her hands being tied over her head as her fingers thrum against the need to hold his face to hers, to trace the lines of his features.

_Later_ , she promises herself.

Kai settles over her and she reflexively wraps her legs around his waist. He catches her lips between his and she swallows another moan when he enters her, stretching her inner walls, making her lose her damn mind. And he moves and she moves with him, as best as she can with her hands tied. The friction of skin against skin, his thrusts sheathing himself deep into her, make her body burn, make the wood of his bed break, the sound of metal and glass shattering and clanging tickling her ears.

Kai moves faster, starting to lose focus as he thrusts deeper and deeper into her and the wave builds again inside of Bonnie, her breathing turning to panting. He leans back a little, his hands on her waist, gyrating his hips and her mouth contorts into a silent scream, her back arching achingly, her head falling back into the mattress.

When she opens her eyes, she can see Kai watch her intently as he rides her into the kind of bliss she has never tasted yet. She can see through her half lidded pupils, satisfaction etch into his features, and behind him notices the intertwined lines of gold and silver flickering around them, revealing the tangible threads of their magic into reality.

Kai thrusts deep into her core and she screams his name again and, as if in retaliation, Bonnie tightens her legs around his waist, squeezing every ounce of pleasure out of him and it's his turn to curse and let her name achingly stumble out of his mouth. She is on the cusp again, her muscles contorting to make way to that very last wave, heart wildly thudding against her chest. She feels one of Kai's hands travel downward and he presses his thumb on her clitoris and Bonnie's vision blurs.

She writhes; welcoming that sweet taste of pure lightning coursing through her veins, quivering under its force. Kai thrusts once, twice inside her before succumbing to the same ecstasy paralyzing her limbs and he eases his body over hers, burying his face in her hair, letting it go in a shuddering breath.

The invisible ribbons pinning her wrists loosen and Bonnie wraps her arms around his back, drawing circles on the back of his head, the buzzed hair prickling her palms as they both try to regain a semblance of breathing.

She feels his breath graze her cheeks as he whispers "scratched" into her ear and she smiles against his bare shoulder.

God, she was so screwed. So very screwed.

And in the confused mess that was her mind, one thing was very certain.

This will not be the last time.

 

xxxoOoxxx

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all remaining mistakes are mine


	6. Chapter 6

Hot water dribbles down and bumps against the pathways of her skin, steam shrouding her like a wall of cotton glass. Bonnie lets herself nestle in that warm embrace, but the tap tap tap of raining droplets against her body does not do much to wash away the ghost feel of his hands and mouth on her.

She squeezes her eyes shut, willing her mind to tear through that sweet haze fogging her psyche and tries to neaten her thoughts in search of a semblance of composure.

Composure seems to be intent on evading her, shooed away by faint shreds of his magic that possessively circle her, orbiting around that misty steam. They poke at her, a reminder of his presence outside the temporary haven that his bathroom has become.

Bonnie has had her fair share of rapidly unraveling turn of events, constantly rebelling against her most well laid plans, but Kai Parker has become a stubborn wedge in her most resolute intentions. He's that proverbial tedious whisper, breathing under her skin, ensconced in the little nooks of her mind, knowing it will always be proven right. And now this whisper has turned into a maddening mantra chanting _tell him tell him tell him_ , urging her to listen.

Bonnie stretches her neck, letting the warmth seep through her skin and infuse some peace into her. Resentment still holds a strong grip on her heart, and that part of her, that had been perpetually let down, reminds her that he is still as dangerous and unpredictable as he's always been. That perhaps, he only saved her to assuage his guilt, to neatly set her as a useful piece in the puzzle of his meticulously crafted plans.

She snorts as the irony dawns on her. For once, she's the one with the strings in her fingers, pulling them as she sees fit and finally in a position to exact some kind of retribution. Too many times she had been forced to forgive without necessarily forgetting, because someone else needed saving. And now she had that chance to strike the killing blow.

And she has no idea what to do with it.

As if on cue, her mind goes back to the scars, his father's marks, that jutted grotesquely against his white skin.

Bonnie exhales slowly and shuts off the water tap. She steps out of the shower and picks a towel, draping it around her. Her hand hovers on the door handle, as she makes up her mind. She will enjoy what she can get from him, no matter if it makes her the very kind of hypocrite she was always quick to condemn. With all she's sacrificed, she's entitled to take without being burdened to give anything back. And she may do just that.

The door lets out a muffled sound as she pries it open and the loose threads of his magic knit together to become a thick blanket swathing her, pushing against her own aura. Unlike the other times, it isn't soft. It sometimes chafes at her skin, the threads of Expression like barbed wires oftentimes pricking her, before their sting is softened by a double touch, like the brush of two different fingers from a same hand.

The thought comes to her unbidden: All the power he has is borrowed or wrested from other sources. She has no idea what his essence, his true self, feels like. Or perhaps she does, she thinks, wincing at the memory of him forcefully siphoning magic from her. A ravenous black hole that seemed to feast on the fabric of her power, purposely tearing its threads out of her skin.

_And don't ever forget how it felt._

Bonnie stands at the door and takes in the mess they've made. The lamps are dangerously hanging on the wall by a single valiant wire; the wood panels of his bed lay there broken in half, the shattered glass of his mirror offers a distorted reflection of reality. She watches him where he's sitting naked on the edge of the bed, eyes studying the map pinned on the wall before him. Bonnie glances at the sheet of paper, peppered by red spots. She notices, fastened to it, a calendar, the days crossed in red and some small annotations affixed in some places.

She steps out of the bathroom, and sidles closer, careful not to step on the pieces of glass littering the tiles. She stops a few feet away from him. Kai turns to her, a smirk ghosting on his lips.

"We're not friends," she states resolutely.

His smirk comes to life, tipping the left corner of his mouth up, "Of course not."

"I still hate you and this…" she gestures between them, "doesn't mean anything."

"Fine by me."

Bonnie takes another step forward, hand clenching the cotton fabric around her body. "I mean it, Kai. It doesn't change anything."

"I think I got it the first time, Bonnie," he quips sardonic as always, and lifts a finger, a condom making its way from the box on the floor to his hand. He meets her annoyed stare with a faint smile. "Can you lose the towel now?"

There is a light brush against her legs and the white fabric pools around her feet. A rush of sudden cold wafts over her, fast ushered away by the more forceful touches of his magic, their path on her skin followed by his gaze.

Bonnie steals closer and climbs the bed to straddle him, his arms instantly encircling her like soft ivy. She claims his lips, swirling her tongue against his. Her skin hitches and sighs under the touch of his fingers tracing the line along her spine, while another hand palms and kneads her left breast. Air thickens, almost funneled out by the vortex of their twisting and intertwined energy, flashes of it revealing itself to reality. Her fingers rake through his buzzed hair, running along the trail of his stubble and she shivers as his tongue tangles with hers, slow strokes that she feels down to the tip of her toes.

His palms travel to her chest, his thumbs run along the half-moon lines under her breasts and Kai tips his head lower to suck on one of her nipples, the other trapped between his fingers. Bonnie stifles an aching moan and welcomes the coiling in her belly and the raw burn of his stubble against her skin. She bites hard at the scar on his neck and suckles on it before noticing black lines snake their way across the uneven skin. She sucks on his earlobe and something, like an invisible spike wends toward her, tugs at the remnants of Expression inside her. White, dots of red, and pitch black flash in her mind and she can feel the dark energy, lazily swirling in her, take notice and reach out to respond.

She doesn't have time to fasten her mind around it as Kai pushes a thumb on her clitoris, his fingers running along her inner folds and her muscles clench in anticipation, blood rushing south. He licks her nipple, while brushing again against the bundle of nerves and she exhales sharply, teeth sinking deep on her lower lip, reveling in the cold sensation of his rings scratching on that sensitive skin. Her eyes squeeze shut, letting the adrenaline rush buzz into her blood. He rubs two fingers against her clit, biting on her breast and her heart jumps. Her nails scrap at the skin of his neck and she smiles as he hisses in response.

Bonnie settles her hands on her shoulders and pushes him onto the bed, his weight making the wood creak and break some more. She picks the condom and focuses on putting it on him. Pride flashes bright in her when Kai lets out a strangled breath as her long slim fingers circle his length, her nails lightly grazing the tip before sliding the protective rubber on it. She grips his penis and positions herself onto it, letting it enter and stretch her inner walls. It's her turn to exhale a ragged breath as the friction tightens her lower abdomen, lightning sparks shooting through her bones.

She watches through half lidded eyes as Kai's features contort after every move she makes, every swivel of her hips up and down. He presses his left hand on her waist gripping hard, while his right palm grabs at her ass, to follow her rhythm and match her thrusts. Whimpers stumble out of her lips as she rides him like he did her earlier in the night. Her breath comes in sputters, making way to moans, her eyes closing.

And that thing is back again. That faint needle comes niggling against her dark magic, the residual Expression inside her surging to meet it.

Bonnie places her palms on his chest, digs her knees in the mattress, balancing herself over him, as she picks up the pace. That little spike of power morphs into a magnet, a vortex enticing her darkened magic to follow its thread and she does just that, answering the call emanating from him. Her mind goes after it, pursuing it, skittering through the maze of blurred colors and flickering lights. She moves faster; the sound of skin slapping against skin only complemented by a hoarse "fuck" forcing its way from Kai's lips.

Tension builds inside her, pulling every fiber inside her taut and a blinding light washes over her mind. It is fast replaced by the flicker of a white room, trickles of blood staining a pearly floor, and it isn't long before her psyche is invaded by foreign visions. She hears then sees the iron tip of a knife scratching against a metallic table, bleeding nails break against a brick wall, a long dark corridor and a door begging her to be opened. Adrenaline shoots its electricity through her, and she swallows a moan as she sees a rivulet of blood run under the closed door. Bonnie feels herself reach for the handle-

And she hisses loudly against a sharp burn on her skin.

She opens her eyes to find Kai glaring at her, catching her wrist in a bruising grip.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he lets out breathless, eyes dark.

"I didn't do anything," she fires back, equally panting, body crying out for its release. "You're the one who started it. I just followed."

Kai curses under his breath and then gifts her with one of his predatory smiles. Bonnie finds it doesn't scare her this time. "If it happens again, just stop. You don't want to go down that rabbit hole. Might be a bit too much for a good girl like you."

She snorts, venom coating her voice. "You don't know what I can handle."

The chuckle escaping his lips isn't any less spiteful. "I know you can't handle this."

Anger spreads through her veins like poison and Bonnie narrows her eyes. She is about to hit him, palm ready to slap him square on his face but he's faster and sits back up, pulling her further into him. He catches her indignant lips in a bruising, dirty kiss and lets her transfer her anger to the twisting wood of his rapidly breaking furniture. She can feel Expression color her mind pitch black. Its power claws manically against the cage of her body, desperate to reconnect with the part seeping from Kai, reaching out and calling, its spiky threads scratching her skin.

She rakes frustrated nails over his back, scraping at his old scars and she bites, vicious, on his lower lip, drawing blood. Kai's aura explodes into dangerously sharp spikes while hers burns, fiery circles closing in on them. He picks her and slams her back against the mattress, ramming himself, hilt deep into her. Her mouth opens into a scream and he curses against the burn she inflicts on his lower back.

His knees press hard into the bed, his hands lifting her ass, her legs dangling and he buries himself further into her. Bonnie clenches the bed sheet tighter between her fingers, as he thrusts into her like a madman and she writhes on the mattress. She sees red and hears Kai hiss again at another burn. He grips her breasts, a vicious twinge of her nipples, and shoves himself deeper. The fabric under her fingertips starts to char.

He thrusts again and again, at a punishing pace, his ragged breath echoing her increasingly loud moans and Bonnie feels her vagina constrict, close in against his length squeezing and squeezing. She clenches her fingers, nails tearing through her palm and Kai groans achingly, she smiles satisfied as invisible hands mirror hers and claw lines into his chest. She's almost slippery under his hands, sweat glistening on her abdomen, the same silver sheen coating his eyebrows.

He pumps into her with abandon, like that familiar ravenous hole, swallowing her core, forcefully ripping her open. Everything blurs and fades but for the sharp lines of his face, the contorted feral smile twisting his lips, the mad glint in his eyes and that molten fire burning her limbs, singing at her mind, and achingly filling that primal need.

Kai lifts one of her legs up, stretching her further and Bonnie loses herself into that burning wave drowning out her senses, shuddering against the force of his thrusts and her stomach tightening so hard under it. She feels her Expression magic finally seep out and reach to touch with his and the power emanating from their linked energies reverberates throughout her body. Burning, adrenaline, lightning race through her, locking and twisting her limbs into a sweet paralysis.

Her heart bumps against his breastbone as Kai drives himself further into her.

When she screams her climax, they are surrounded by flames, swathed in a bubble of fire, his magic shrouding them in a force-field, preventing them from burning his house down. Dark ribbons lace with the flames, and she sees Kai's wide manic grin and awestruck gaze as he rides her through her orgasm, beads of sweat rolling from his nose to plop on her burning skin. Bonnie lifts her hand and Kai leans into her, pressing harder on her inner walls, and she lets out another shuddering breath, mouth open. When his face edges closer, their ragged breath mingling, she traces the contours of his mouth with her thumb and he sucks on it.

"K – Kai," she whimpers achingly and he thrusts deeper, making Bonnie press her head further back and keen loudly.

"Shh – almost – there," she hears him croak out, and he pulls back almost completely before driving again into her so deep she cannot control her scream and the flames threaten to burst through his shield. He lets out a stuttering breath and she sees that dark corridor again, blood dribbling on the door.

A white wall.

Traces of bloodied palms that trailed on it.

Words written in red imprint on her mind.

_I'm doing this for you. For you. For you._

_I will fix you._

And everything turns achingly red again.

Kai pumps erratically into her, as her boneless body falls back down on the bed, mind fogged by the adrenaline running through her. She hears him swallow, hard, before contentedly exhaling his own climax, burying his face between her breasts. Her hands trace the lines of his back and draw soothing patterns in his moist hair.

They stay tangled in each other for a long while, catching their breath. Then Kai eases himself out of her and rolls onto his back. Bonnie glances up and sees a black half circle burned into the white ceiling. The darkened charred remnants of the bed sheet are a powdery touch against her skin and her heart beats in tune with Kai's breathing.

She can't look at him, her mind still clinging to the after effects of what they just did. Her eyes roam around the room and she can see that everything within the bubble Kai wrapped them into has burnt to a crisp.

She wasn't the only one to notice as she hears Kai snort, "Seems like you enjoy ravaging my place, first the living room, now my bedroom."

Bonnie snickers, trying to wind her thoughts around that wave of power she's never felt before.

The metallic skeleton of the bed creaks and groans when Kai moves and settles on his side, leaning his head into his palm as he gazes down at her. His free hand follows the line between her breasts, his fingers teasingly run around the dark brown areola of her nipples and head further down to trace the scar he gave her in May 1994. Bonnie remembers how he hissed under the burns she inflicted on him and the memory sparks a pleasant flutter in her chest. She lifts her fingers and touches his throat, caressing her own offering to him, the jagged line of a healed stab wound.

The sweet aroma of post coital daze, laced with the scent of burnt wood, wraps around their naked bodies like a warm blanket and Bonnie's heart stutters at the thought blossoming in her mind.

She could get used to this.

The ringing of her phone prevents her from following that line of thinking further and reality crashes back in.

She needs to go. She needs to leave before it's too late.

Bonnie catches Kai's hand that has started trailing a lazy path further down her abdomen and meets his questioning gaze. "I have to go."

"Now?" he asks, letting out a frustrated laugh.

"Yep, now," she replies, evading his attempt at bringing her closer to him and climbs out of the bed, or what's left of its charred fabric.

She fishes her clothes in the mess they made of his room, Kai's gaze brushing against her skin.

"So I guess you're not the cuddly type, huh?" he says, and she can hear the annoyed undertone laced in his voice.

"Not really," she retorts, putting her panties on and letting her dress drape over her body.

"Figures," she hears him mutter, seemingly miffed and she holds back a grin.

She has conjured up her coat, purse and shoes when he speaks again. "You should stay. I happen to make a mean breakfast" he coaxes, low voice sending heat to pool in her abdomen.

"I'm sure you do," Bonnie replies, putting her stilettos and her coat on while fighting against the enticing idea of Kai Parker's hands kneading her body again. And she is hungry. She turns to meet his heated expectant stare, and her heart thuds wildly in her chest. She swallows thickly, her skin humming under the warmth of his aura.

"See you around" she croaks out before bolting out of his room and his home, threads of his power chasing after her.

She walks through his neighborhood, willing the sense of loss to waft away, only to have the memories of her time in his room assault her every thought.

Her phone buzzes again and she fishes it out of her purse.

Calls from Damon she won't answer, not tonight anyway. She snorts when she notices he reverted to texting after not receiving any response from her.

_Papa Parker not found. We need new plan. NOW._

Bonnie bristles against the spark of anger lighting through her while reading the text. She's about to shove her phone back into her purse when she notices the last message, from Caroline.

_Since you're not back home yet. You better give me ALL THE FUCKING DETAILS ;)_

Bonnie smiles, and exhales a slow breath, her body mourning the loss of adrenaline and the delicious ache that Kai coaxed out of her. Her eyes are lured by the faint touches of morning, the moon reluctantly trading its light away to the sun and Bonnie sighs, bringing her thoughts back to the name that needs her attention for now.

Astrid Barnes.

 

xxxoOoxx

 

_"This time, it should work," the voice is familiar, trembling under the exertion. Magic has never failed to claim its toll when abused. "It must work."_

_He's on his knees, naked, and pushes against the binds tying his hands behind his back, the invisible shackles flaying the skin of his wrists. Blood drips from his nose, staining the pearly floor dark red and he tries to rein in the poisonous fear that churns his belly._

_He's still breathing, so that must mean he's still alive._

_The footsteps are fast approaching and his heart thuds increasingly as a response._

_"This will be over soon." Famous last words that lead him to plead. Plead for him to stop. Just stop._

_"I am doing this for you. I'm saving you from yourself. If only you'd been- … See what you make me do."_

_And blinding pain tears through._

_The powerful fingers of magic dig into him, spears cutting inside, prying him open. It's as if they are lacerating every fiber of his being, cleaving flesh from bones, to see, see what makes him not tick like he should._

_His strangled scream disrupts the flow of Latin words being spoken, the familiar voice shaking with fatigue but pushing through, continuing with the spell that is splitting him open, the spell trying to break him piece by piece and put him back into the right puzzle he should have been._

_He's got his hands bound, his head down, his eyes squeezed shut, almost pressing his pupils back into his skull, and his mouth wide open._

_He is so young but he knows, he knows, he already knows._

_He is not something than can be fixed. He's known all along._

_And that familiar voice knows it too but keeps on trying and trying and hurting him._

_His body falls to the ground, twisting and squiggling like a sacrificial lamb evading the executioner's blade. And he screams, hoping it can release the pain viciously contorting his limbs._

_The voice wavers, the spell stutters and blind hope flares into his chest._

_The power of the incantation flickers, and recedes as the voice cracks and breaks the spell._

_He lays there immobile, head still down, hands still bound._

_Relief pours through him and he welcomes its salve, like an ointment to his wounds. He hears the footsteps pace, frustrated, in the room, harsh whispers filling the silence._

_He's still breathing, so that must mean he's still alive._

_He coughs more blood on the floor._

_The footsteps enter the blurred lines of his vision and he hears him crouch over his body. The familiar voice speaks again, tone soft, almost apologetic, "It didn't work this time. I need something stronger"_

_Calloused fingers run through his soaked dark hair, sending a shiver through his spine._

_"You need to work with me here, kid. Or you know what the coven will have to do. I don't like doing this. But I have to. You understand, right?"_

_Something in him tells him to acquiesce and he moves his head with difficulty, nodding, the tiles scratching against his skin._

_"You're strong, you can take it," the voice says again but he isn't listening anymore. The after effects of the spell send burning tremors through his limbs, and the air on his reddened skin is like salt against an open wound._

_He's the living witness that magic cannot be trusted, blood and flesh aching under its yoke._

_"You have to help me here," the voice says again. "What's a coven leader with an abomination as heir?"_

_What is it indeed? But no amount of stolen grimoires and violated witches and ruptured magic can undo what had been sealed in his mother's womb._

_"You have to help or I will have to use Jo as part of the spell. You know how fragile she is."_

_Jo._

_He can feel the terrified aura of his mirror image outside of the door. He can imagine her crumpled against the door, crouched into a ball, hands pressed on her ears, trying not to hear. She must be waiting for the voice to leave so she can heal the visible wounds and try her hardest to soothe the ones that stay hidden. As she always does after these sessions._

_"Promise you will be more diligent," the voice orders, tone hard._

_"Pro – promise," he achingly croaks out, hands hurting against his binds._

_"That's my boy," the voice says, soothing. "Now go back to sleep,"_

_The footsteps echo away, the door is unlocked and everything turns black._

 

_Wake up._

Kai slams his eyes open, groaning and lets out an annoyed breath. The spirit of Malachai paces inside, snickering.

_Never fun going back down there, uh?_

He barks out a laugh, crackling his neck.

_I think that's when we first learned how to really hate right?_

"I think so," Kai replies.

We were so young though.

"Yeah, I was." His eyes roam through the darkness, satisfied. His Father's prison is exactly what he wanted it to be. Black, bare and empty. There is no way to know if there are walls as they extend themselves further as the person walks towards them. It's the very definition of a black hole.

He can already imagine his father desperately running through them and finding on the floor the weapons he's littered along each of the four possible paths, like the breadcrumbs in his favorite fairytale.

He lets the darkness settle in his mind, wash the poisonous pieces of recollection from of his skin, breath in some peace and soothe him. This is where he has learned to be most at ease. And this is where his teacher will live his last moments.

_Do unto him what has been done to us._

"Exactly."

Kai stretches his muscles, his back hurting and he smiles, reminded of the reason for his tired limbs. His mind leafs through the pages of his memory to conjure the mementos of Bonnie achingly writhing under him, in a blazing inferno. He knew sex with her would be fucking glorious but he wasn't prepared for this and he can feel his length throbbing at the whispers of her ragged breath rushing through his mind, his name stumbling from her sweet lips, her cries in his ear when she was coming for him.

And the fire. Pure, devastating, terrifying fire. Embodiment of her Bennett power.

No way he's letting her go. Now that he's had a taste, no way he'll allow himself to be starved of it.

He wonders, with a wicked smile, what Sheila Bennett would have thought of this. He wonders if she learned what his father did to him. Perhaps that was the reason she took Jo with her. The woman that helped imprison him would be rolling in her grave if she knew he was fucking the magic out of her granddaughter. God he hopes she knows, whatever plane of existence she was sent to.

Kai inhales a soothing breath, contentedly letting the magic of the prison wrap around him. He thought coming back to it would be hard, but he's learned to fight fire with more fire. Becoming ruler of these worlds has been akin to a twisted form of therapy, a distorted twelve step program that will end with his father swallowed in the black hole Kai specially crafted for him. Although he must admit, the silence of the prison world is almost more calming than the constant babble and hullaballoo of the real world.

But he's still breathing. So that must mean he's still alive.

Kai fishes out of his pocket a small vial filled with the special mixture he concocted. A blend of Bennett and Parker blood with a touch of expression. Second key with the ascendant. The bloodied tissue from their first prison-creating session revealed enough to compose the transparent liquid and he heeded Malachai's advice not to tell Bonnie. Why, he followed that particular counsel, he has no idea. He pours a trickle of it on the ascendant and lets the magic warm him up in its darkened glow, bringing him home in a blinding dream.

Kai shakes his head, readjusting his vision to the flurry of colors and scents and flavors and sounds of the real world, his brain reveling in the synesthesia. He heads up to his room, smirking at the mess of the night before and goes to take a shower, getting ready for Soe Yun's arrival.

He needs her by his side for the last part of his plan, having promised the fearful members of his coven that they will not be part of, nor be collateral damage in the tug of war between him and his father. But he needs back up as the finish line gets closer and closer everyday. And Soe has always been a sucker for weddings.

Soe doesn't even bother to ring when she arrives, just uses her magic to unlock his door and finds him in the kitchen as he cooks them a quick lunch.

"You know doorbells are made for a reason right?" he welcomes her, sardonic.

"Yeah, not to use them," she quips backs, dropping her purse on the table. She tilts her head, upraising him, sniffing at a scent in the air. "Well look at you, oh mighty coven leader, you look…"

"Well fucked? That's because I am. You should try it. Works wonders to brighten your mood."

"Oh shut up," she replies rolling her eyes and Kai snorts, gesturing for her to sit and bringing her a plate of delicious looking pasta.

"Basil zucchini spaghetti with cheesy broiled tomatoes," he boasts and Soe throws him a customary unimpressed glare when tasting his food, before wolfing on it and rapidly taking a second helping.

"So, pretty blond student or filthy brunette?" she asks, pouring a glass of red wine for herself. She's about to fill one for him but he shakes his head.

"I'm driving. And no, gorgeous witch," he answers, swallowing a mouthful.

"Interesting, maybe I can convince her that the grass is greener on my side of the fence," she goads and takes a swig of red.

Kai grins, "I don't think she swings your way."

"Tsk tsk. Don't doubt my persuasion skills, Kai."

"Oh I don't. But she's taken so stay away from her," Kai replies, a venomous smirk highlighting the warning tone in his reply.

Soe Yun smiles, snake-like, and nods. "I guess that's why you booked me an apartment instead of letting me crash here."

"Pretty fucking much." Kai says, drinking his soda.

"So where are we going today?" she asks, helping herself with a third plate of pasta.

"Ikea." He snickers at her raised eyebrows, "I need to buy new furniture. And a new bed."

Soe Yun barks out a laugh. "Are you really sure you can't share her with me?"

"Positive." He says, smiling back at her. "And then we need tuxes for the wedding tomorrow, since you don't wear dresses."

"Yey," Soe Yun claps her hands together, excitement brightening her soft features. "I love weddings."

"You'll love this one. It's a night wedding. But please stay on your best behavior. Jo and I are walking on eggshells. And Liv is still out to kill me."

"That brat needs to sit the fuck down. She was lucky enough not to have been raised by your parents."

"I killed her twin," Kai amends, swallowing the food. He inwardly snorts at the irony of him playing devil's advocate.

"Details, details," she replies, lazily waving her hand before taking another mouthful of pasta.

"Anyway, please don't do anything stupid or rash"

Soe Yun sends him an indignant glare and Kai chokes on his soda, laughing. "Have you met me? I am the definition of composure," she states defiantly.

"Sure you are", Kai let's out, sarcasm dripping from his voice. His mind goes back to his father and Soe Yun seems to sense the spike in his aura and the faltering of his smile as her piercing eyes lose their mirth and peer at him. "And then we make sure my Father gets locked up for the rest of his life."

Her answering grin matches his feral one.

 

xxxoOoxx

 

The car slides through a carpet of leaves as it speeds on the highway. The world around Bonnie blurs into autumnal colors and it almost calms the uneasiness gnawing at her since seeing Damon's text earlier in the morning. She didn't even get to rest her exhausted body after her nightly exertions, only sleeping for a couple of hours before Caroline put her through the wringer about her night with Kai. She decided however to avoid any of the Salvatore gang, of which Elena is a prominent member, to focus on finding Astrid Barnes instead. She can imagine them pacing in their old mansion, trying to come up with a contingency plan after not being able to track the Parker patriarch.

It dawns on her then that it's been almost five days since she's seen Elena, after she gave her and Damon the 1903 ascendant. The numbness it elicits only makes her mourn even more the friend she used to be willing to die for countless times over. A wave of wistfulness washes over her as she yearns for simpler times, when the Salvatore name was unknown quantity, when not being invited to the popular school party was the only tragedy in their lives.

When a visit to her Grams was part of her daily routine.

When Caroline was human.

When Matt had a sister.

When Jeremy was still drawing.

When Tyler still had a family, a home to go to.

When Elena didn't trade them, her friends, for the empty promise and dangerous gamble of eternal love.

Bonnie always tried not to begrudge Elena for choosing the vampire brothers over them, over her. She could understand the allure of the unknown, the unexpected, over a tedious routine of seeing the same faces over again. Even though these vampire brothers had little care for the damage they left in their wake, damage always inflicted on the ones in Elena's vicinity, the ones that actually truly loved her.

But she cannot let go of the resentment clinging to her heart, fastened around the question no one ever dared to ask. What if? What if Elena hadn't gone down to that supernatural rabbit hole? What if she had cut the Salvatores out of her existence, saving their lives in the process?

"Guess we'll never know," Bonnie exhales, shaking her head, as she peers at the road in front of her, in search of an exit sign.

She turns right, taking exit 66 and it isn't long before she can make out the sign welcoming her to Falls Church, Virginia, Population 13,500. She drives through verdant hills and dark green woods, before entering the small sized town.

It takes an hour or so to find the address she is looking for, passing by the bustling Farmers' Marker at the City Hall and sensing the weight of stares assessing the stranger that set foot in their home. She leaves the main road and heads toward the eastern edge of the city, looking for the small art gallery holed up in a hidden corner of an abandoned neighborhood.

After several twists and turns, Bonnie stops her car in front of a small grey walled inconspicuous shop, with only a cheap looking sign dangling over the door stating Art Gallery.

Her eyes land on the little black box disposed closed to her purse. She looks at it for a long moment and snatches it, shoving it deep into her bag. With one last exhale, she steps out of the car and enters the shop, the dangling doorbell heralding her presence.

She comes face to face with a twenty something looking bespectacled young woman. She's a plump short girlish version of Harry Potter, seemingly still searching for the door leading out of adolescence. Her flower printed pink dress, cropped hair and polka dotted scarf complement further her youthful appearance and coaxes a warm smile out of Bonnie.

The same warmth spreads throughout the small gallery, walls painted in a bright yellow with green tiles adorning the floor. A few paintings, all portraits of men and women, of different ages, no children however, decorate the walls with a wooden desk, transported out of the 1980s, on the right to welcome potential customers. However, the faint tint of dust betrays the lack of interest from Falls Church residents in this little visited dwelling.

Bonnie steps forward, schooling her features to be inviting.

"Hi," she starts. "I am looking for Astrid Barnes?"

The young girl beams, readjusting her glasses. "Are you Bonnie Bennett?" she asks and Bonnie nods, raised eyebrows not hiding her surprise.

The woman chuckles, waving a hand around the gallery. "We don't have a lot of customers to say the least so we tend to remember when someone is scheduled to pay a visit. And Miss Parker called so…"

Bonnie shrugs, acquiescing.

Something pricks the back of her neck and she sharply turns toward the source of discomfort. She is only met by the laughing portrait of a young man. The painting is so detailed that it is almost akin to a breathing photograph. Bonnie shakes her head, frowning against the shudder that runs down her spine.

"Are you alright Miss Bennett?" the young woman asks, her concerned eyes staring at her and Bonnie replaces the frown pursing her lips with an apologetic smile.

"Yes I'm fine, just a little chilly."

"We have a lot of those nowadays, with this weather," the woman answers, nodding. "This way, please" she adds and gestures for Bonnie to follow her.

The young brunette opens the door on the far right corner of the gallery, surprising Bonnie again as she didn't even notice the opening in the wall. She walks behind the young girl through a long, sinewy, narrow corridor with light grey brick walls, the neat space contrasting with the dust filled shop they just left.

She shivers again against another chill, this time more like the faint brush of a whisper on her ear and Bonnie has to shake herself again to let the cold wind pass by. She can't help but notice how the air is thicker, and her senses tingle as she feels it moving around her. It seems as though the walls were living, breathing things. Goosebumps spatter her skin and she chides herself at the apprehension churning her belly. She inhales a calming breath and plasters a smile on her lips when they stop in front of a white marbled door and the young girl turns a beaming smile towards her.

"We're here," her guide declares and slides back to open the door wide, ushering Bonnie in.

The room is a much larger windowless cube, with high ceilings and white marble walls littered by hundreds of little square portraits. Men, women. Young, old. No children.

Bonnie's eyes roam the room as the young woman treads toward the sole piece of furniture, another white cube deposed on the floor, right in the middle. Bonnie sidles closer to one of the portraits on the left wall, another drawing akin to a photograph. An older woman this time, offering the same huge grin that she witnessed in the first gallery. Bonnie watches it and the prick stings the back of her neck again. She winces, her breath hitching.

"Miss Bennett?" the young brunette asks, standing behind the cube that poses as makeshift counter. Bonnie turns towards her. She doesn't bother to hide her uneasiness this time.

"Where am I?" she asks, trying to keep her voice emotionless.

"You're in Falls Church and in the gallery of Miss Barnes," comes the sugary reply. And it rings false in Bonnie's ears. Her voice reminds her of all the movies she's seen, the artificial intelligence with unnatural tones that grotesquely masquerade as human.

"Who are you?" she asks again, infusing more strength to her words.

The young girl only offers another wide grin and Bonnie's heart jumps in her throat. She hears the door lock itself behind her and turns to find a bare wall, with nothing but white where the door should have been. Panic rises in her, turning her breath into faint sputters, her heart thudding wildly against her chest. She wills her magic to break through and dread fills her veins when she realizes her power is neutered in the room.

Calm down, Bonnie, she tries to reason. Jo would not send her into a trap.

_Or would she?_ her inner voice counters. _Stupid, stupid girl. Always rushing head first._

"Are you alright, Miss Bennett?" she hears behind her back and Bonnie closes her eyes. The sweet youthful tone of the young girl's voice has vanished. It has been replaced by a raspy growl that roots Bonnie into place.

And she finally hears them. A thousand whispers and cries running along the walls, forming a dissonant orchestra akin to ants digging through her temples, prying her skull open, entering her mind. Bonnie presses her palms on her ears to make that maddening cacophony stop.

After a few heartbeats, it does, manufactured silence muffling them, smothering them shut.

Bonnie lets her hands fall to her waist and reflexively grips her purse.

She tries to return her breathing to a more normal tempo. She takes a few breaths and resolutely turns back toward the young woman.

The brunette gifts her with another large smile, dripping with venom, and takes her glasses off.

"You are Astrid Barnes, aren't you?"

The woman snickers. "Nice to meet you to Bonnie," she replies, voice still raspy, akin to that of the evil witches in the childhood fairytales that used to haunt nightmares. Bonnie takes a few steps forward, not averting her gaze. The young woman tilts her head to the right, assessing her. "Are you sure you are a Bennett? The ones I encountered always picked up the veil I put on me," Astrid adds, taunting.

"You know my ancestors?" Bonnie asks, ignoring the baiting.

Astrid laughs, a sound so far from human it makes Bonnie's skin crawl. "I am old, but not that old, sweetling. I knew Amelia and Sheila. What side of the family tree are you?"

"I'm Sheila's granddaughter," Bonnie answers, her grip so tight on her bag now that her knuckles are aching.

"I see," Astrid says, tone flat, upraising her. "Jo told me you have something that might interest me."

Bonnie takes another step forward, steeling her voice. "Depends. Do you have something that might interest me?"

Astrid snorts, eyes turning pitch black. "I've forgotten how deep bravado runs in the family. But do you have anything to show for it, little girl?"

Bonnie swallows, thickly eliciting another wide smile from the old witch. "That's what I thought."

The woman lifts her hand, gripping an invisible drawer that she opens, conjuring a black metal box that she places on the cube in front of her.

"I have what you requested, and now you have to show me what you will trade for it. If I deem your offering valuable, you will be free to leave."

"And if it's not?" Bonnie asks, hoarsely.

Astrid gestures towards the portraits. Bonnie follows the path of her hand and her eyes land on that of a man, seemingly mid forty, large blue eyes, strong jaw.

Huge grin.

Her heart stops when the eyes blink and a bloody tear rolls from one of his pupils.

"Now, can we talk business," Astrid declares and struck speechless, Bonnie can only nod.

She disentangles her fingers from the strap of her bag, opening it, fishing the black box out of it. She studies it for a few moments, the dark velvet soft against her fingertips before squaring her shoulders and offering it to the older witch.

Astrid raises an eyebrow, the creased lines of her real age reveal themselves on her temple before disappearing under the power of her spell. She opens the box and pulls a vial out of it. "Blood? Do I look like a vampire to you?"

"It is no ordinary blood. It's the cure," Bonnie replies and watches as Astrid's eyes widen ever so slightly.

"I thought it was just an urban legend. A little tale to keep vampires in line."

"No it's real."

Bonnie's heart clenches at Astrid's narrowed eyes, dark ink coloring them black again. "What tells me that this isn't a ploy, fake blood for a fake cure?"

"Can't you sense the dark magic in it?"

Astrid nods, opening the vial. She closes her eyes and sniffs the blood, whispering words in Latin, tone so low, Bonnie can't make out their meaning. She however sees the blood ripple and boil. Long slim fingers crawl out of it, up, up and clench the rim of the vial. The room turns dark, the whispers coming to life again and Bonnie sees the portraits move, hundred pair of eyes blinking lured to the dark magic.

Astrid smiles and puts the lid back on the tube. The room turns white and silent again. She places the blood back into its case and puts it on the makeshift table. She opens the metal box and retrieves a red pouch, presenting it to Bonnie.

"This is a special treat of my own." She says, opening the pouch and picking a dark red square leaf. She sets it on fire and a translucent shield appears morphing into a circle, hovering in the air between them. "Set it on fire and add a drop of your blood to make the shield more potent."

"And the spell?"

"You don't need spells, with dark magic. Your will is enough."

Bonnie nods, taking the pouch from Astrid's proffered hand. She places it in her bag, and meets the witch's stare, questions gathering on the tip of her tongue.

"Anything else?" Astrid asks, putting her glasses back on.

Bonnie hesitates.

Astrid snorts, the sound making Bonnie shiver. "Questions are free. I'll let you know beforehand if the answers will cost you."

Bonnie is marginally reassured and so she asks, "How did you know the Gemini?"

Astrid's lips lean into the sharp curve of a wolfish grin. "I used to be part of the coven. They excelled in finding the most powerful yet deadliest witches. Ones who could set aside their sense of morality. Which is pretty understandable when being in charge of prison worlds. And what's in them."

Bonnie exhales a slow breath, her suspicions confirmed. The more she learns about that coven, the more it fuels her sense of dread and unravels the ugly underbelly of a world she only knew faint whispers of. One of which her Grams was a part of.

"You don't want to know how I met your Grams?" Astrid asks, voice back to that young melodious tone that welcomed her.

"No. I don't," Bonnie says, tone hard. She glances around her, at the hundred pair of eyes watching her. "Can I go now?"

"Of course. It's always a pleasure doing business with a Bennett," Astrid offers, wide grin firmly in place, contrasting with the black pools swirling in her eyes.

Bonnie responds with a parody of a smile, hands gripping her bag, knuckles white, and she slowly turns around stepping toward the wall. As she treads closer, she can feel the weight of the eyes on her, whispers crawling under her skin and relief sparks through her when the lines of the door appear again and etch across the wall.

She puts a trembling hand on the handle and opens it, shivering at the piercing creaking sound it makes when revealing the long corridor. She starts walking faster, as though chased by the whispers, increasingly loud behind her. The walls stretch to reveal the lines of faces imprisoned behind it.

Bonnie breaks into a run, running as fast as she can through the corridor and out of the shop. She doesn't even register the chafing cold breeze against her skin when she bursts through the doors. She finds refuge in her car, revs up the engine and presses her foot on the pedal, the car bolting out of the street. As she's about to drive out of the alley, her eyes catch in the rearview mirror the silhouette of Astrid, and behind her, the large dark shadow of a hunched over old woman.

Bonnie flattens the gas pedal and never looks back.

 

xxxoOoxx

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all remaining mistakes are mine


	7. Chapter 7

**Kai buttons the black jacket of his tailor made tux** , upraising his appearance in the new mirror he purchased the day before with Soe Yun. His eyes land on the dark tie clashing against the white shirt and he tugs at it, throwing it on his shiny new bed and heads down to the lobby. Soe is waiting expectantly, also clad in another fitted dark suit, white and black checkered stilettos making a repeating clicking sound on the floor, expressing her impatience.

She raises an eyebrow when she sees him. "No tie?"

"Nah, you're already wearing one. We'd look like rejected members of the Blues brothers," he answers picking up his car keys. He snorts when Soe starts humming "Everybody needs somebody" as they head out, on their way to his sister's wedding. Night has already draped its dark veil on the town, a soft breeze ruffling the valiant last leaves clinging for dear life to the bare trees, and Kai inhales contentedly, his power twining with Nature's fabric, while the dark energy inside him swirls lazily through him, oftentimes calling for Soe Yun's.

The moon is half full, the night taking its other part in ransom, bathing the road in its silver glow. The car heads toward a barn at the edge of Whitmore and they spend the drive bickering on which radio station to listen to. Soe ends up winning the argument, as always. They arrive at a picturesque rustic shed surrounded by a field of equally pastoral wild flowers, not far from the edge of the woods.

Kai and Soe both grimace at the bucolic scenery before them, unimpressed.

"Your sister really has shit taste."

"Have to agree on this one." Kai sighs and parks the car.

They tread toward the barn, a small congregation of guests already milling around, waiters wandering between them to offer food and drinks. "No magic out in the open. Most of them are Jo's colleagues," Kai warns as they approach the set of chairs, disposed in five parallel rows from each side of the path the bride will walk on to join her future husband at the altar.

"You guys really are no fun," Soe quips, annoyed. She waves at a waiter and picks two glasses of champagne from his tray, handing one to Kai. They mingle with the crowd, eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to pick anything out of the ordinary. Kai lets his aura stretch further, threads of magic travelling through the space, in search of a certain Bennett energy.

What he finds is the sharp needle like strings of his baby sister's magic, brutally scratching at his.

He turns to the left, letting Soe pursue their conversation with a sexy brunette, med intern, and locks eyes with a belligerent looking Liv. The calming periwinkle of his sister's maid of honor dress contrasts with the icy glare she throws him. He answers with the widest shit eating grin he can muster, raising his glass toward her before downing it in one gulp. He feels Soe sidle near him and wave cutely at the youngest Parker, and he smirks as the cherubic features of his sister lose their manufactured innocence, replaced by cold anger. Liv stares at them for a moment and then abruptly turns and heads further into the barn.

"I'm gonna go find Jo," Kai tells Soe

"And I'll stay here with the hot piece of ass," Soe grins and saunters back to the brunette waiting for her.

Kai snorts and steps out of the shed, making his way toward the row of small wooden cabins behind the barn, where the event planners, waiters and cooks flutter about like busy little bees. He weaves his way amidst the throng of employees, the guests admiring the scenery and the bridesmaids getting ready. He enters the lobby of the lodge where Jo is holed up in, only to come face to face with the man he'd readily go to another prison just to avoid calling him Brother in Law.

Alaric stops right in front of him, cutting his walk short, blocking his path toward his sister. Kai offers a fake simpering smile, reining in the dark beast inside, and raises his eyebrows in question.

"I'll say this once. You're here because she wants you to. You try anything during my wedding and I will put you down," Alaric warns, tone brooking no argument. Their standoff in the lobby attracts a fair share of wandering eyes but it doesn't seem to faze the groom.

Kai chuckles, shaking his head. "Relax Rick, I'm just here for moral support."

_But we'd gladly bash your skull against one of the nearby trees, until your brains leak out like white sauce._

Kai's grin widens, turning manic, "Besides, I promised Jo I wouldn't hurt you…. As long as you don't give me a reason to."

Alaric balls his hands into fists and Kai gestures toward the room behind him. "Now, I'd like to see my sister," he states and waits for Alaric to move out of his way. The older man steps aside and Kai smiles, smug, heading toward the room.

He knocks twice and opens the door, only to be met by the befuddled and wary eyes of Elena as she tends to Jo's dress. He notices beside her Bonnie's blonde friend – another vampire, he thinks annoyed – perking up and turning to peer at him. He meets her stare and is surprised by the assessing, semi-friendly look she gives him complimented by a knowing smirk.

"Oh joy, more vampires," he sneers, stepping into the room. He waves his hand and the door closes itself making the two young women exchange concerned looks. Kai puts his hands in his pants' pockets, meeting their stare and lets his lips lean into a sugary grin. "Is my sister here?" he asks.

"Right here, Kai," Jo answers, stepping out of the bathroom, seemingly a little indisposed as her pale skin can attest. She turns to Elena and offers a grateful smile. "Thanks for everything but I think I can take it from here. You should go enjoy the party before we start," she coaxes, gently.

Elena glances his way before nodding at Jo, smiling faintly. "Call me if you need anything"

Kai lets out an impatient sigh and Jo answers him with a withering glare. "Will do," Jo replies and waits for both vampires to exit the room.

"A human groom and vampires as bridesmaids. I know you hate magic but this is a bit much, don't you think?" Kai snickers and settles on the sofa just under the window in the right corner of the small room.

He watches as Jo huffs a breath, rubbing her temples and heavily lies on the chair across from him near the vanity.

"Are you ok?" he asks, eyes narrowing at the pale hue coloring her cheeks, highlighting the blue in her eyes.

"I'll be better when I stop vomiting," Jo croaks out, visibly tired.

"Should have paid attention in sex ed, doc," Kai snorts, his grin widening when she rolls her eyes.

She gifts him with a strained smile that doesn't reach her eyes, however unable to cover the wild look lurking behind her pupils. "What's going on Jo?" he asks softer.

"Nothing, just wedding jitters." She waves his concern away. "And I'd really kill for a drink right now."

Kai snickers, shark like eyes upraising her. "Or maybe you're realizing what a giant mistake this whole shindig is," he states carefully, voice flat.

"Don't start," Jo warns, tone clipped but Kai senses her resolve waver, recognizing the familiar coyness of his sister when she wants him to make the decision for her, without actually saying it. Ploy she always used when dealing with their parents and that Kai learned to twist to his benefit.

"Do you really want to marry this guy?" he presses, eyes still peering at his twin.

"He's the father of my children," Jo replies, piercing powdery blue pupils meeting his more greyish ones.

_Children._

Kai sits up, leaning forward, forearms resting on his knees. "So you know? Since when?" he asks, fighting hard to keep his voice even.

He feels the annoyance of his sister shift into something akin to resentment.

"I've had a feeling all along. Just hoped it wouldn't be the case." The revelation seems to weigh on her shoulders, instead of alleviating her concern.

"Jo, that changes everything. You know that right?"

"It doesn't have to," she retorts more feelingly, strength back in her voice.

Kai chuckles bitterly, raking frustrated hands through his shortly cropped hair. "Of course it does. You know damn well it does. You don't have to marry that fucker-"

"Kai!" Jo snaps, indignantly.

He exhales a slow breath, hands raised, placating. "Let me finish," he amends, calmer. "Your kids are not yours anymore. They have to be part of the coven."

"And that's a fate worse than a death sentence and you know it."

"Because being surrounded by a bunch of murderous vampires is any better?" he cannot rein in the anger flaring in his chest, this time, lights around them starting to flicker. "That little boyfriend of yours claims Damon Salvatore as his best friend. That vampire and his brother are worse than the bubonic fucking plague and Ebola put together. And the girlfriend they happen to share? She's a walking disaster magnet. Feel like dying today? Go be friends with Elena Gilbert."

This elicits a reluctant snort from Jo, making him hope she's seeing his side of the argument.

"Jo," he coaxes, softer this time. "The deal is still on the table, and if we get rid of Dad, I think it's a much better one than what your precious baby boo can offer."

Jo sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose and looks up to meet his expectant stare. "I'm not selling my children to you. The coven is the definition of fucked up."

"Like you're any better," Kai fires back, icily. He frowns against the peculiar sense of protectiveness sparking inside him at his sister's critique of the coven that he has come to call his own.

Jo narrows her eyes; by now, she has completely shed the warm and inviting mask she fools others with.

"Of course, you're the one who massacred our family, but I'm the fucked up one," she retorts. The venom dripping from her tone seeps into his veins, and he can taste its poison on his tongue.

Kai grimaces, sending her an equally dark glare. "Aren't you tired of running?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you do," he replies, feral grin in place, not missing a beat. "You've run all your life from what you are. You think you'll get to live a normal life, with that bullshit white picket fence and average college professor? Well, think again, Sissy. You're part of this family, whether you like it or not, as fucked up as it is. And if you believe that running from the past will protect you and your children, then you sure haven't been paying attention."

Jo barks out a laugh, the sound unladylike but completely her. It's bitter and angry, soft and abrasive, and it makes Kai smile wide in recognition. "I am nothing like you," she challenges, eyes incandescent, turning electric.

"Oh but you are. You might be the better version. But you're still half of me. Like I'm half of you.," Kai counters, a genuine grin lighting his features, meeting Jo's smirk. "Come on, you know I'm right. Matter of fact, I'm always right."

"Yeah, not one of your best attributes, if you ask me," Jo quips, and looks down at the white fabric of her wedding dress. Kai watches her. She seems lost in thought, but he knows he's gotten to her. A few more minutes with her, and he'll have her right where he wants her to be.

Fate seems however to be conspiring against him, as they are startled by the arrival of one Liv Parker, whose bright smile falters when seeing Kai with her sister.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, cutting tone as sharp as always and Kai praises himself for his restraint as Malachai is rattling in his cage, pleading for a chance to teach the brat a lasting lesson.

"Nice to see you too, Livvie Poo," he offers, beaming grin belying the coldness in his darkened pupils.

"Get out," she orders, aura spiking up.

"Is that a way to talk to your coven leader?" Kai replies, smile vanishing.

"Stop it, the both of you," Jo cuts in, exasperated. She turns to Kai, stare blank, features indecipherable even to him. "I think you should go. I need Liv to help me get ready."

Kai grinds his teeth, stifling a cutting reply. He stands up, adjusting his jacket and walks toward the door, kept ajar by a sneering Liv. He stops at the door, his aura and that of his baby sister clashing brutally against one another and he peers at her, smiling darkly, when he feels Liv wince against the potency of his magic.

He turns towards his twin, glancing disdainfully at the white dress taunting him. "Think about what I just said," he says and doesn't wait for Jo's answer before leaving the lodge.

Kai heaves a weary sigh, when stepping onto the night. The lights of the barn are constellations in the dark sky, with people rushing to it like a legion of ants toward their hive. He needs to get rid of Rick, one way or another. No fucking way, he's losing future members of his coven to that loser. Especially when these are valuable ones. And he will bring them all back into the fold, Jo, her children, even Liv, kicking and screaming if he has to.

Kai cracks his neck, and his stomach groans, hunger demanding to be pacified, when a sweet familiar tingle comes to tickle the shell of his ear. He smiles, wide and wolfish, and leisurely follows the thread, hands in his pockets, excitement bubbling inside. He turns left, and weaves his way between the different cabins, until he finds a pampered Bonnie exiting the last one, visibly in a rush to meet the other guests in the shed. He watches as she stops in her tracks, back straightening, seemingly sensing him. She turns around and the light fabric of her short black skirt ruffles the skin of her thighs, her white sleeveless top, with a black heart shape embroidered on it, lazily swaying under the faint breeze.

True hunger gnashes his belly and Kai offers a lopsided curve of his lips to welcome her. "Well, well, someone's late."

He can see Bonnie's eyes widen, taking him in, clad in his tux, and he steps closer, his memory swimming with visions of her slick body between his hands, thrashing under him, in all her Bennett glory.

"Fancy meeting you here," he says, stopping a breath away from her, their magic touching, making his fingers thrum under the need to feel her soft skin under his fingertips. She doesn't seem to fare much better, her arms crossed in a makeshift shield, looking everywhere but at him while his eyes try to catch hers, trapped in their silent joust. They let the feel of their magic tangle and twine, and it brings back the taste of her in his mouth and Kai swallows thickly, want fogging his mind.

Nope, there's no way this will be just a one-time thing.

"How's Jo? No wedding jitters, I hope?" Bonnie finally asks, a touch out of breath, trying to break the moment with small talk. She looks up to meet his gaze but his eyes flicker down to the cherry red lips that he tasted two days ago. He can feel her bristle as his eyes linger on her lower lip and he takes another step forward, closing the space between them. He lifts a hand and runs his fingers along her bare arm, smiling as goose-bumps skitter her skin, in chase of his touch.

"Kai, I don't think this is a good idea," Bonnie whispers, and he notices it's the first time she said his name that way. The only times she allowed herself to let out this peculiar combination of those three letters she was wishing she could kill him or she was fucking him. But this soft inflection of his name is new, something she's made to be only hers, branded in his memory, and makes him ache to hear it again and it takes everything in him not to bend her over the nearby table and fuck her senseless.

"You think too much. Anybody told you that?" he replies, voice losing a couple of octaves.

"And you don't think enough," she hisses back, however not pulling away from his touch.

"Besides, where's your plus one?" she asks with more steel in her voice. Kai traces the line of her collarbone, eyes lured by the soft glow of her skin beneath the moonlight.

"Trying to convince a sexy brunette into spending the night with her I presume," he answers nonchalantly. He chuckles at Bonnie's raised eyebrows, her eyes widening as realization dawns on her.

"Besides, she might try to seduce you as well. She likes powerful witches. And if they look as gorgeous as you do, well, all the better," he adds, smirking as his hand lands on the small of her back, nestling her into him, trapping her into the half ellipse of his embrace.

He locks eyes with her again, getting lost in the beryl touches of her pupils, and he leans in, Bonnie mirroring his movements, face slightly tipping up. He revels in the adrenaline rush shooting in his bones, anticipation gnawing harder at his stomach, at the thought of sucking on her sweet, sweet tongue as her plump lips part and tread closer and closer.

"Ahem."

And anger stabs at him when the voice of Damon Salvatore echoes behind him.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to Bonnie."

Bonnie straightens immediately, like a spooked cat touched by scalding water. She takes a few steps backwards, and walks around him, not sparing him any glance while he closes a fist, stifling the urge to set everything on fire. He inhales sharply against the loss of that particular mix of Bennett energy and residual expression, Bonnie's signature, and turns to see her petite silhouette follow Damon's behind the row of cabins.

He looks back toward the shed, making his way toward the lights beckoning him, in need of a drink.

Yup, he hates vampires.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

**Bonnie can't stop her body from shivering**  from her brief encounter with Kai, retaliating at being deprived of a touch she has started to yearn against her better judgment. She carefully makes sure to leave a few feet between her and Damon, his stiffened back and the silence during their walk attesting to his anger. The chattering and twittering of the guests meddle with the slight wind twirling in the night, the rustle of leaves adding their notes to the melodic chorus, as a last wave of guests arrive for the soon to start ceremony.

She follows him into the stable behind the barn where a pacing Elena awaits them. Bonnie meets her questioning eyes as Damon closes the doors.

"Bonnie," Elena breathes out, seemingly relieved at seeing her. "Hey, we were getting worried. You kind of disappeared on us."

As always, Damon lets out what Elena tries to circle around, never needing any gloves to go straight to the point. "Yeah, maybe you can tell us what the hell is going on with you," he says, icily. "We haven't heard from you in almost a week, you're not answering your calls and your texts, especially when we need a new plan."

"Damon, enough," Elena chides, glaring at him and Bonnie watches as she plasters a tentative smile toward her, however assessing her as if she was a wild animal needed to be cajoled. "What's going on Bonnie?" she asks, sliding on that particular mask of sincerity Bonnie learned to recognize every time she needed a favor.

Bonnie smiles sadly, a touch despondent, at the masquerade of good cop bad cop the people she has come to call her friends are playing, talking to her as if she was a ticking bomb that needed to be neutralized, a fragile girl that needs to be protected from herself. She swallows thickly, grimacing against the bitter taste of resentment.

"You enjoyed playing bait that much that you forgot about your friends?" Damon asks, sneering. His words bring out a surprised frown, marring Elena's soft features. "What's that supposed to mean," she aims the question at Damon while still peering at a silent Bonnie.

"I found her getting awfully cozy with none other than Kai Parker, coven leader and certified psycho," Damon snickers circling Bonnie like a vulture before standing beside Elena to face her, his eyes hard.

Elena lets out a disbelieving laugh, gazing incredulously at her friend, "You were with Kai? After everything he's done to you?" Bonnie exhales sharply and Elena sidles close, "Bon, what's wrong? Talk to me… Please."

Righteous anger spreads through her veins but it is the sadness that Bonnie's heart clings to. She stares at Elena, and instead of the vibrant, full of life gleam her human self would have offered back, there is only a vacant emptiness, a bottomless pit due to months of loss and tears and blood and more loss. The supernatural feasted and plundered on her Elena, the Elena she grew up with and loved instantly like the sister she never had, until she was only reduced to the shell of the girl that soldiered through losing her parents with a grace uncommon for her young age. That Elena drowned in a river two years ago and facing Bonnie now are the bare bones of her lost spirit.

Once again, Bonnie mourns the girl that never wanted to become a vampire.

"I'm sorry Elena," Bonnie says, the words pushing through the growing lump in her throat. "I don't think I want to talk about it. I think I needed a bit of time alone."

She hears Damon bark out a humorless laugh. "What you need is get your head back in the game, Bonnie," he snorts, annoyed.

This time she lets the anger flood through. She turns blazing eyes toward the older Salvatore, who has the sense to look taken aback at the fury flaring behind her pupils. She tries her hardest to control her voice, not giving them any reason to not hearken her words. "My head was always in the game, Damon," she retorts through gritted teeth, "Otherwise you all would be dead a thousand times over. You wouldn't be here with Elena, if my head was not in the game."

Bonnie takes a step forward, and her anger seeps through, a forceful breeze rising in the stables. "My head in the game was me saving your life in that hell and getting stuck there for months," she continues, voice deceptively calm, accentuating every word. "My head in the game is what made me get out, by myself. By. Myself. Damon. Saving myself. So don't you dare tell me what I should do and not do."

Elena steps between her and Damon, hands raised, placating. "You're right, you went through hell and back" she amends. "But you're not ok, Bon. You're distant. And Kai is dangerous. He terrorized you when you were stuck there with him-"

"And he's the one who helped save me when you and Damon were commiserating together" Bonnie cuts Elena short, hard stare meeting her friend's shocked one. Bitterness swirls inside her, bubbling into a poisonous laugh, escaping her lips. "How fucked up is that, Elena? The person who tortured me for days is the one to save me, when all my friends couldn't. And you expect me to be ok after all of this? Do you even hear yourselves?"

Silence falls between them, a heavy stone in a calm river, and Bonnie swallows thickly as Elena's eyes shine with a silver liquid in the dim light and Damon furrows his brows, nodding. She can see a flash of guilt flicker through the older Salvatore features before his stare turns icy again and he meets her eyes, exhaling sharply.

"Ok, fine, we get it, we're horrible people, woe unto us. You can hate us and blame us all you want after. But we need to get back to the rescue mission and most importantly, to finding a way to get rid of Kai."

Bonnie's lips contort into a caricature of a smile. Years ago, she would have raged against the injustice but she has been forced to grow up fast. She knows the world is hard, cruel and ugly and will never offer what is fair. So she is not fazed by Damon's words, accustomed to the selfishness that clings to him like a second skin. She wishes she could say that she is surprised by Elena's silence but her friend lost her voice a long time ago.

It is Bonnie's turn to shed that last bit of innocence that has maintained its residence in her heart. She nods, gifts Elena with a despondent smile and then turns blank, emotionless features toward Damon. "I'm done," she says, voice flat.

"What do you mean you're done?" Damon asks, taking a menacing step forward, making Elena sidle left, to stand as effective barrier between them. Bonnie straightens up, meeting the Salvatore's stare head on.

"I will help get your mother out, for Elena and because I know you won't hesitate to hold this town in ransom if I don't. But then? I'm done." She states, resolute.

Damon barks out a laugh, shaking his head. "Yes, until there is another crisis. Or some of us are in danger. Or I hold the town in ransom again. Then you will come back. You always come back."

"Not this time," Bonnie replies, determination coating her voice. "Remember when I thought there was still hope for you, after everything you've done? That's why I got you out. Was I wrong? Are you going to make the same mistakes again? Make Elena hate you again?"

Under the direct scrutiny of the Elena in question, the Salvatore vampire's silence is answer enough; although Bonnie doesn't miss the anger making him ball his hands into fists. Damon never took being proved wrong very well.

Bonnie meets his stormy stare and steels her voice, "Like I said. I am done. You can find another witch willing to work for you. And something tells me Liv Parker will not be as compliant as I am. Just like the Gemini won't hesitate to take your mother out if she goes on a rampage again."

Damon snickers, as always purposely evading the guilt and frustration that sometimes makes him look a touch human and choosing to focus on his anger instead, the path of least resistance. "So what? We let Kai roam free? Is that some weird case of Stockholm syndrome? The Bonnie I know would never let a dangerous maniac out in the open, free to kill and destroy."

Bonnie shakes her head, an almost manic disbelieving laugh running through her. She laughs, tired and disheartened, and looks up to face the older vampire. "You're joking right? That's all I ever did. I let you guys do whatever you wanted, unchecked."

_And I lost the little family I had for this._

The lump in her throat makes it harder to breathe and resentment and bitterness smother her heart in their iron grip. She releases a tired breath, turning sharp eyes toward Damon again. "You really don't realize the irony, do you? Your mom is a ripper and you're asking me to set her free. Pot. Kettle. Black."

"I'll handle my mother," Damon replies through gritted teeth. "But who's going to take care of Kai? You will just let him be a danger to us all because … what? … We hurt your feelings and you're done? Ok then. We're sorry. There. Happy?"

"Bonnie, you know we never meant to hurt you. You know I would never hurt you" Elena breathes out, voice quivering, colored by something Bonnie hopes with all her heart is guilt. Elena owed her that much.

Exhaustion creeps into her, taking over, and Bonnie heaves a weary sigh.

"Come on, BonBon," Damon cajoles, gentler this time. "You can't leave us like that. Not after everything we've been through" he coaxes, tone soft.

Bonnie hesitates and bittersweet memories of her time alone with Damon, in their own little world, flicker through her mind, making her question her resolve. A part of her misses that version of Damon, but it turns smaller and smaller when she remembers the hurt that stabbed her like a burning knife when Elena callously recounted how her rescue was left to be handled by Jeremy and her former tormentor. How four months together in that hellish dimension had not been enough for him to do his damnest to return the favor she had willingly given to him. How he is one of the main reasons her life has been burned to the ground.

Her magic is the only thing that makes her not be seen as an afterthought. And she will forever be just a useful tool to be passed between their hands. She knows now. She's known all along.

_This is not all there is_. She thinks, bitter.  _This is not all I am_.

Bonnie looks up to the vampire that she did, despite everything,  _despite Grams_ , call friend in that alternate reality and offers him a sad smile. She then sets apologetic eyes on a silent Elena, squeezing her inhumanely cold hand in her warmer palm. "I'm sorry," she says sincere and turns to leave.

She's about to reach the door of the stables but she stops in her tracks when Damon whooshes in front of her. His features are feral now, replacing the softer ones that tried to lull her back into a familiar sense of loyalty. "You don't know what you're doing Bonnie," he snarls, eyes turning dark red.

"Damon, let her go," Elena protests, voice stronger than before.

"Get out of my way, Damon," Bonnie warns, magic rushing to the tip of her fingers, ready to tear through.

"Not before you come back to your senses and get your head on straight" Damon orders stubbornly, muscles locked in an offensive stance.

Bonnie is about to walk around him when he catches her arm in a bruising grip, twisting it and Bonnie grits her teeth against the pain shooting through her and she can hear the shift in the air as Elena rushes to them, fighting Damon to let her go. She closes her eyes and lets her power flow, running freely through her veins, seeping from her skin and breaking the bones in Damon's arm one by one. His grip loosens and the Salvatore brother falls to his knees, crying in pain, hand fractured, palm twisted inside out, grotesquely hanging by century old skin. Bonnie steps aside from his bent body then locks eyes with a fearful Elena.

"Again, I'm sorry," she says softly and heads out.

The cold night's air is light against her skin, replacing the thick heavy atmosphere in the stables. It makes her body hum contentedly, belying the weight dragging the muscle between her left ribs further down. Bonnie squeezes her eyes shut, willing away the burning liquid pooling behind her eyelids. She sniffs, furiously wiping at tears she will not let fall. Her phone buzzes and she takes it out of her purse, smiling at the message from Caroline.

_Ceremony will start. Come and we'll talk about the hot dude you banged!_

She throws a last glance to the stables. Then she faces forward, and heads towards the flickering lights of the barn, following the thread of laughter and chatter echoing in the night.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

**Kai surveys the barn** , strangely akin to a theater stage, as guests slowly find their places, the constant prattle like the background noise heralding the start of a play. From his vantage point, sitting with Soe Yun on the last row on the right, he can see Bonnie's blonde friend texting furiously, throwing anxious glances towards the door as Damon's brother, sitting beside her, does his best to calm her. He notices as she perks up, his own senses tingling as they both turn around to catch a seemingly upset Bonnie step into the shed.

Bonnie locks eyes with him, their shared gaze searing the flesh in his ribcage, and promptly looks away, walking toward a beaming Caroline. Kai's brow furrows when he registers the dizzy, uneasy quiver in the feel of her magic and he's vindicated when he sees the smile falter on her friend's face, fast replaced by a concerned look. They seem to engage in a heated conversation as they take their seats in the front row waiting for the rest of their clique to arrive.

"So Jo has vampire friends now?" Soe cocks her head, following the path of his stare, studying the scene unfolding before them.

"Not one of her best moves, I agree," Kai replies, peering at Bonnie and the invisible dark cloud weighing on her slender shoulders.

It isn't long before Alaric, Damon and Elena make their entrance, and Kai wishes he could have been a fly on the wall during that conversation between Bonnie and the older Salvatore, the air turning cold as the vampire brushes past her and Bonnie turns away from him. Whatever went down between them must have been serious enough to set the two friends at odds and he presumes  _that_ something has to do with him and Bonnie almost jumping each other's bones earlier.

The thought of him being reason enough for her to start cutting ties with her vampire gang is sweet ambrosia that makes even Malachai hum his approval.

The chatter dies down when Alaric goes to stand at the altar, Damon by his side while Elena and Caroline take their places across from them, waiting for the bride-to-be to enter and start the ceremony. Jo decided that Liv would be the one giving her away to Alaric, fitting as she's the only relatively sane family she has left. Kai doesn't dwell on the pernicious thought snaking its way through his mind, the distorted voice of a child asking  _why not me, why not me_ , its toxic poison weeding through the cracks between the puzzle of his heart. He nips the blossoming disappointment in its bud and settles his eyes on Bonnie's neck, as she sits in the front row a few feet away from him, tracing the lines of her back with his grey pupils. She shivers, not turning around and his mouth leans into a faint smile.

They wait for the bride to arrive, silence stretching achingly and he thinks of Jo, tired and swollen, potential Gemini heirs pulling the skin of her belly taught, unsuspecting as to the fate already sealed in their mother's womb.

They wait, they wait, and hope sparks inside him, ready to explode and warm him up like in a nova's glow. Kai tears his eyes from Bonnie to look at Alaric's increasingly anxious features. The groom to be meets his stare, unable to mask the naked fear clouding his eyes and, despite the curse of his re-growing heart, Kai relishes on his dread, feasting on it like a starved man. His grin widens and Alaric's face falls.

As if on cue, the whispers that were a faint brush in the night turn to chatter again, the buzzing sound rising against the silence and guests start to look at each other, turning to a befuddled groom in askance, the air thrumming with anticipation.

His phone rings, the sound high and loud over the background noise and Kai beams. He reads Liv's message, his baby sister's anger seeping from the translucent surface and stands, fully aware that all eyes are on him. He notices Bonnie turn to peer at him and sees Alaric about to move and follow his lead but he raises a hand, gesturing for him to stay put, the dark glare he throws serving as stern warning. With a glance at Soe Yun who nods, Kai makes his way out of the barn, walking toward the parking, in search for his sister's car stopped far back at the mouth of the woods.

It doesn't take him long to find them, following threads of Parker magic, and he stumbles upon his two sisters, Jo in street clothes and Liv pushing the wedding dress in the back of the car. He stifles the need to burn the white piece of clothes to a crisp and chuckles, announcing his arrival.

"I see someone came to her senses," he says, cheeky.

Liv sends him a sharp look; that he mirrors with one of his own. The blonde Parker grabs the keys from Jo's hands, and walks around the car to claim the driver's seat.

"Does your offer still stand?" Jo asks, facing him, her arms crossed. She's visibly tired, all the colors having drained from her features, dimming the blue in her eyes.

"Absolutely," Kai replies, sincere.

His twin sister hesitates, narrowed eyes assessing him. "You realize I'm choosing to trust you, Kai. Against my better judgment."

"I know," he says, this time serious, her words having a sobering effect on his great mood.

Jo peers at him, seemingly trying to find any hint of dubiousness in his trickster ways and at long last nods, releasing a slow breath. "Fine, Liv's going to take me to my apartment."

"Good, she's gotta be useful for something, right?"

"Fuck you Kai," Liv says, seething.

"Right back at ya, Livvie Poo," he fires back, glancing at the back of the blonde witch's head and then turns to meet Jo's piercing stare. His older looking twin worries her lip, training uncertain eyes on him.

"Let me guess, you want me to deliver the good news."

"Tell him I'm sorry," she replies, a sad smile curving her lips.

"Please, that fool never stood a chance." He snorts, shrugging, "And it's always better than me bashing his head out with a picket axe"

Jo's about to protest, exasperation coating her baby blues with an electric glint, but Kai beats her to it. "Now please go before you change your mind and spoil my evening," he says, ushering her toward the car and helping her sit beside Liv who revs up the engine. Kai watches as they disappear into the night, a contented smile etched in his features and smirks, giddy. He cannot wait to see Alaric's face.

Luck gifts him with this chance when he hears the sound of running footsteps and he turns in time to see Alaric make his way to the row of cars, closely followed by the Salvatore brothers.

"Where's Jo?" Alaric asks, wild eyed and voice a low rasp.

"Ah man, you've just missed her." Kai replies, grinning. "Seems like my sister pulled a runaway bride on you."

"You little piece of shit," Alaric takes a menacing step forward, hands balling into fists, and Kai can see Damon snarl, canines stretching down, ready to attack.

"Now, now, Rick," Kai soothes, hands raised in a fake placating gesture. "You better check that temper of yours. No wonder my sister turned tail and ran," he adds, barking out a laugh.

His features turn shark like, as he makes out the silhouette of Soe Yun leisurely step out of the dark and stand behind the Salvatore vampires, glass of champagne in hand. The vampires turn to look at her, sizing her up as she takes a last swig of her drink and shatters the glass into simmering dust.

Kai takes another step toward Alaric, the air crackles, wind like glass breaking, and he lets that familiar electric charge run through his bones at the thought of spilling the man's blood, of twisting his limbs. Malachai roars inside him, its spirit racing with the dark energy to feed on the incoming chaos.

"Thanks so much, Rick," he sighs, almost content. "You don't know how much I've been itching to crack some bones since that damn merge."

The silence is heavy, like the strangled breath before a scream. Then chaos ensues.

Damon is the first to attack, lunging at him and Stefan rushes toward Soe. Kai feels the winds shift, whispering their route and he roots his feet to the grass, the ground rumbling. He raises a palm, air turning into forceful gusts coming together to build a makeshift wall that Damon violently crashes into.

The older Salvatore falls but recovers quickly, and blindly charges forward again, cold hands almost grazing him when he cloaks himself and sidesteps to the left, evading his arms. He reveals himself in time for Damon to turn around and Kai curls the fingers in his right hand, making the vampire fall to his knees, mouth open in a silent scream, contorting himself in pain.

He hears Alaric rush behind him and Kai extends his left arm, palm outstretched, flicking two fingers upward and the man starts levitating, going up, up and up, while he strengthens his invisible grip on Damon all the while. Kai closes his left palm making Alaric hover in the air and the man flings his hands to his throat seemingly suffocating.

He watches, feral grin twisting his features, as Soe Yun takes care of Stefan, the witch tearing large branches from the nearby trees, invisible knives cutting them into a flurry of wooden stakes that impale themselves in the vampire's legs and stomach. Soe flicks her fingers and other stakes rise and twirl round and round around the younger Salvatore, crouched on the floor, bleeding dark, closing in on him in a lethal circle.

Adrenaline courses through his veins, the hysterical cackle of Malachai buzzing in his ears and he relishes the power flowing through him, surging in tendrils of dark and red whirling around him, as Damon and Alaric twist and thrash and squiggle under the force of his magic.

_Do it. Do it now. Kill them. Come on, man! GIVE. THIS. TO. ME!_

The bars of Malachai's cage are about to crumble under his assaults, his inner sociopath rattling against them to get free, when a wave of power flares fiery gold in the night and crashes against Kai's and Soe Yun's auras. It makes them waver in their grip but they recover just in time for both to turn their heads to see Elena and Bonnie burst into the clearing, eyes wide as they take in the scene before them.

Kai stands tall, one hand clenched, the other balled into a fist wended upward with Damon squiggling down at his feet, bones cracking and scratching against bones, limbs twisted at grotesquely unnatural angles, and Alaric hovering in the air, hands clung to his throat, eyes bulging, ragged breath coming out in sputters. Stefan is trapped in a circle of wooden stakes, orbiting around him, attached to invisible strings, Soe Yun pulling at them like a puppet master.

"Well, look who's late to the party," Kai grins, manic, a mad glint coating his darkened eyes. His resolve to kill both Alaric and Damon falters however when he meets Bonnie's furious stare, wisps of her fiery magic already pummeling the air, the wind turning warm and hot, almost sizzling.

With a wave of her hand, Bonnie burns the wooden stakes of Stefan's cage and wraps the wind around her fingers, knitting its threads into a spear that she flings toward Kai. It makes him loosen his grip on Alaric, left outstretched palm turning toward her attack. He lifts another wall of wind to stop it from hurting him, the curtain of warm air trembling against the force of her spell. He watches, eyes intent as Bonnie rushes forward and thrusts her arms up, slowing down Alaric's fall and makes him land softly on the ground.

Bonnie runs to Alaric, making sure he's still alive, helping him regain his breathing and Kai smirks as he sees Stefan lunge toward Soe, Elena in tow, and both vampires drop down like flies on the grass, cradling their head in their hands, when Soe clenches both her palms, trapping them in the same torture that Kai is inflicting on Damon.

His gaze lands back on Bonnie who straightens, posture sitff as she seemingly upraises the situation, locked in a standoff between two powerful witches. The screams of the vampires twisting at Kai's and Soe's feet, their bones bending and breaking, are muffled by the forceful gusts of wind whirling around her, testament of her anger.

Kai peers at her, watching as she glances to Damon, thrashing on the ground, dark liquid seeping from his eyes, limbs twisted like a broken doll, and he waits until she lifts her gaze to lock eyes with him. He inhales a sharp breath, when she sidles closer to him, and he raises his free hand gesturing for her to stop, but she edges further, closer to his personal space, the warmth of her aura caressing his more chaotic one and making his skin hiss under its touch.

_I swear to fucking god, if you let her distract you…_

Bonnie takes another step forward and stops when he throws her a harsh glare, his final warning.

"Kai, stop this. Now." she orders, air rustling under her fingers.

"No" he answers, eyebrows raised, challenging. It's his turn to step forward, making Malachai howl in fury, and treads closer, his clenched hand pulling invisible strings that drag the squiggling body of Damon with him.

He stops a breath away from her, anger simmering from him, losing himself in the green of her eyes again and their magic clash violently against each other, raising huge tall walls of wind, high, high, up toward the sky.

Black and red scratch against fiery gold, and he can taste the molten heat of her power on his tongue. It reminds him of when he had her screaming his name, burning him, engulfing him in her blazing magic as he feasted ravenous on her skin, relishing the rush of him moving inside her. He takes another step forward, dark pupils never leaving hers, erasing the space between them and he feels her breath hitch, her hands balling into fists and she traps them in a ring of fire.

God, she has no idea how fucking glorious she is.

Kai watches, fascinated, as her features soften, his eyes lured to her soft blood colored lips parting, her tongue darting out. "Kai, please," Bonnie all but whispers and it sends the same addicting delicious ache rush south, sear low in his belly and he bites the inside of his cheek, cursing the power that Bonnie Bennett has over him.

He peers down at her, and she doesn't avert her gaze, the flames dancing around them.

"Put a leash on your dog," he lets out, tone deceptively calm. Bonnie glances down at Damon and looks up to meet his stare again. She nods and the flames die down.

They don't even register Caroline's arrival, their magic locked in their magnetic pull. The blonde vampire has the sense to stay put, silent witness to the scene unfolding before her.

"Caroline, take Alaric to the hospital," Bonnie orders, not averting her eyes and her friend follows suit, hauling up Alaric in her arms and whooshes out of the field.

Kai relaxes the hand clenching Damon's skull and lazily flicks his fingers sideways sending the vampire to slam against the large trunk of a nearby tree, the vampire dropping heavily to the ground. He tears his eyes from Bonnie to meet Soe Yun's questioning stare, Stefan and Elena still screaming at her feet. He nods and Soe releases them before flinging them to crash right into Damon's slumped body.

Kai locks eyes with Bonnie again and she throws him a withering glare that he answers with a dark smile. He then walks around her over to an awaiting Soe Yun.

"Let's get out of here" he says, not looking back, and they head to his parked car, passing the flock of discomfited or gossiping guests leaving the barn.

It isn't long before his car speeds up against the leaves littered road, away from the thankfully botched wedding.

"Man, this was fun. I take back every mean thing I ever said about Jo," Soe Yun laughs, as he drives them to Whitmore. Kai snickers, adrenaline still sending tremors through him, the ghost feel of Bonnie's magic still making his skin tingle.

"And you and that witch, that was so hot, no pun intended" Soe continues, excitedly doing a running commentary of their evening.

"I know" Kai replies.

"And that wave of power she sent through the air, and that spear, man; that fucking spear! She was just so fucking hot!" Soe adds, excitedly

"I know" Kai offers again, memories of Bonnie flooding his mind, making him tighten his grip on the wheel.

"And she's a Bennett witch! You are fucking a Bennett witch! Sheila must be rolling in her grave right now-"

Kai barks out a laugh at that, although the words of Soe suddenly darken his mood. "Was," he corrects.

"What?"

"Was fucking," he says, annoyed.

"So you dumped her after having sex with her? That's cold."

He doesn't answer, the pregnant pause making Soe Yun perk up, eyes widening, lips turning into a taunting smile.

"Oh man, she dumped you?"

"Not technically" Kai is quick to amend, cringing at the almost whining tone of his voice, as he takes a turn left.

It makes Soe double down in a fit of laughter, cackling and making him squirm even more, as he rues the stubbornness of one Bonnie Bennett.

"Atta girl. I like her already," Soe breathes out.

"Of course you do" Kai retorts, not bothering to hide the grin that tips the corners of his mouth up.

He drops Soe off at her apartment, a mere five minutes away from his house and parks his car, adrenaline still buzzing in his blood when he enters his home. He's hungry and horny as fuck as flashes of Bonnie flicker through his mind, invading his every thought. He takes off his jacket, dropping it on the lobby floor, toes off his shoes and socks, and unbuttons the sleeves of his shirt, heading barefoot to the kitchen. He fills himself a glass of red wine, gulping it in two swigs and contemplates getting drunk on it when the doorbell rings.

His heart starts thudding wildly when strings of familiar magic come and tickle the nape of his neck and Kai treads to the door in quick long strides, opening it to find a flustered Bonnie standing on his doorstep, uncertainty swimming in her green eyes, worrying that plump lower lip of hers under her pearly teeth.

He doesn't even register her breathy and shy "Hey," when he closes the space between them, leaning down and claiming her mouth in a devouring kiss. She snakes her arms around his neck, pulling him into her and he grabs her thighs lifting her up, her legs cradling his waist. Her purse falls to the ground, the door slams shut, and Kai leads their tangled bodies, heavy breathing, and swirling tongues into the living room.

His mind calls for the box of condoms lying on his bedroom's floor, and, with a flick of his hand, wipes the wooden dining table clean of its contents that go crashing to the left wall. Getting rid of their clothes and putting on the condom is like excruciating torture but well worth it when he proceeds to fuck the lights out of her, her body bent over the table, his hands on her back, pinning her to it, his rings digging into her skin.

It's rough and raw and dirty and Kai plows into her like a madman, adrenaline shooting in his very bones as he revels in Bonnie whimpering and keening under him. They call it little death and if so then death has never been so sweet, as the scents of Bonnie, sweat, sex and the wood of his table burning under her fingers, blend together and come to tickle his nostrils. They tangle with the building pressure coiling his stomach, Bonnie's inner walls squeezing the life out of him.

He leans down on her, lifting her legs to lay over the table, and shoves himself deeper into her, making her let out an aching whimper that twist out the roots of him and almost makes him lose his mind. He needs to hear that sound again. He reaches out, snaking a hand from under her glistening body, gripping a breast, squeezing a nipple hard between his fingers, and she scratches her fiery nails on the wooden table, leaving dark marks against the light brown panels. He bites her shoulder and trails his hand lower and rubs her clit harder as he drives his cock impossibly deep into her core. Bonnie screams and he almost drowns in the electric shock of pleasure paralyzing his brain. Another deep thrust and her slender limbs contort under the pressure of her climax. She closes a fist and the corners of the table snap and break. Kai lets out a strangled contented laugh. Death has indeed never been so sweet.

They lie naked on the floor, sated, hungry and sticky, Bonnie on her stomach, head propped up on her hands, studying the red dried marks of his blood on the white wall while he learns every line of her heart shaped face, committing them to memory, his back on the floor. His fingers clench under the need to touch her, but he waits, not wanting to send her running back to her home. He can sense the usual skittishness that comes to her after fucking the brains out of each other, too scared of stepping over the line of mind blowing sex and enter very dangerous territory. For both of them.

So he lets out a content sigh, nestling into the warm embrace of their twined auras, his gaze turning back to the ceiling as he tucks his hands under the back of his head.

The silence is comfortable, if not numbing, but it isn't long before she breaks it.

"I died 3 times," she says, soft, eyes still trained on the blood spatters on the wall.

"So, you're like a zombie or something?" he deadpans, trying to add levity to her weighty confession.

"You're such an idiot," she snorts and Kai smiles, almost triumphant. A peculiar sort of anticipation, of yearning, tugs at his heart and he waits with baited breath to see if Bonnie will widen the opening that she granted him into the inner workings of her mind.

And to his surprise, and relief, she does. She spins the tale of the girl who still questions the power that thrums under her skin, that swirls in her Bennett blood, as it has betrayed her one too many times for her to trust it completely. She talks about the things she's faced and smiles when he whistles, impressed at her destruction of the Other side. She talks about the three times she died and that one time she came back, reminding Kai of his coven's teachings and those whispers he heard about the not so enviable role of the Anchor.

"Hmm, so riddle me this. You died three times and went to hell and back for your friends, right?" he asks and he sees her nod, tentative, seemingly aware of where this was heading. "Then why did they seem awfully cozy with you being stuck alone there? Damon and Elena were even celebrating your birthday, without you actually being there. I mean, granted I'm pretty new to this feelings stuff, but that's pretty cold, even for me."

Bonnie's face falls for a split second and then turns hard. Kai braces himself for the impending storm, a burn here, an aneurysm there or even her fleeing his home. But she just tears her features away from his keen gaze and resumes studying his wall.

Kai heaves a weary sigh, however intent on not letting it go as memories of her arrival at the wedding ceremony, upset and out of sorts, flicker through his mind.

"So you don't really care? Or is that your weird sense of loyalty toward Damon and Elena that comes into play."

"I think I've done enough talking," she replies, tone curt and angles her face back to him to lock incandescent eyes with his. "Your turn" she all but orders.

Kai averts his gaze, grimacing. His mind goes back to their thanksgiving dinner in never ending May. He had opened up to her as a test, as a way to see if his words could sway her, could dig a path in her rocky stubbornness. Now, he was supposed to play fair, give back what was offered to him diligently. And he has never played fair. Never learned to. Always been taught that the world is hard, dark and cruel and most certainly not fair. So he's ready to lie through his teeth and not let anyone, especially not her, into that rabbit hole he sometimes is reluctant to descend to. However, those damn feelings continue to find their way into the spaces in the jagged puzzle he was pieced together into after that damn merge. And they nip and tug and tear at that dreaded muscle, growing bigger and bigger in his ribcage. So he speaks.

"My father tortured me for years," he says, tone emotionless. "Well, he tried to fix me. His words, not mine. He thought he could fix the abomination that I was. Started when I was 5. He used to lock me in the room upstairs and tried spells on me to see what would work. There's that one that is just nas-ty. It's like sharp nails penetrating you and ripping you open from the inside. Last time he did that one on me, couldn't stand on my two feet for a week."

Something ugly clenches at his heart, making it difficult to breathe and Kai responds to it the only way he knows how to. He lets his lips lean into a wolfish grin and looks at a silent Bonnie. "Which is why trapping him in his hell will be sweet vengeance."

Bonnie only offers a strained soft smile and turns back to study the reminders of the wounds she inflicted on him on his pearly white wall.

They stay silent for a long while.

"Hey Bonnie," he says at last, tearing the quiet veil wrapped around them. He turns and peers at her, waiting for her to meet his stare. She does and he adds. "I think I hate your friends."

Bonnie barks out a surprised giggle, although to his ears it is more like a disguised sob. Her features brighten; a soft glow settling on them that makes Kai's heart race a touch fast and he grins at her, tangling his laugh with hers.

"I think I hate your dad too," she offers back and Kai aches to have her under him again. The moment is however broken when she rolls around and stands up, looking for her clothes. The word  _stay_  burns the tip of his tongue.

He sits up and watches her put her clothes back on, the manufactured fabric caressing the skin that burned under his fingertips earlier and he clenches his jaw as he swallows the bitter taste of disappointment. He plasters a fake smile when she turns to meet his gaze, and he feels small satisfaction at seeing uncertainty back in her pupils.

"See you around I guess?" he says and Bonnie nods, gifting him with a shy faint curve of her lips and leaves his house for the umpteenth fucking time.

He feels the loss of her aura in his very bones.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

**The Latin tumbles out of his lips in a familiar motion** , echoing the threads of words spun around by the three other witches behind him, lending him their power. His eyes are closed but he can  _see_  the circle of twelve hearts, freshly torn out, beating in tune and the trails of blood draining out of them, snaking their way on the wooden floor to meet in a dark red puddle at the center of the circle.

Joshua Parker inhales the nascent whiffs of dark magic, as he sits cross legged on the floor, in the dimly candlelit lodge at the edge of the Lockwood Mansion, while night stretched its veil on the sky, coloring it black. The puddle starts boiling, twisting, squiggling and slim slivers of darkened blood stretch up and up out of the quivering liquid, sharp, crooked needles swaying in the air. They drop suddenly and the puddle of blood coils into itself, twists against itself and at long last morphs into a dark red, eyeless, spider.

Joshua opens his eyes then, breathing out a sigh and casts an inviting open palm toward the tarantula. The spider skitters on the floor, its sharp bent legs scratching against the wood and it makes the other witches' skin hiss in apprehension, raising faint harsh whispers that swirl in the air.

_Mine. Mine. Ours. Always_

The large spider climbs into Joshua's sweaty palm and turns around itself, seemingly trying to find the right spot to stand on. And Joshua shivers when an eye opens, human, etched on the abdomen of the insect.

_Always. Mine. Ours. Always_

It peers at him, red pupil turning left, then right and the eyelid drapes over it, seemingly closing the tarantula's abdomen shut again. The slim needle like legs scrape his skin and the Parker patriarch closes his own eyes, willing his power to meet the dark insect's call. The threads of his magic come together, reluctant at first, and link through his palm with the spider's dark energy. Then the insect _sinks_  into his hand, penetrating skin, flesh and bones, dissolving into his blood. Joshua hisses again. He opens his eyes only to see the black mark of a little spider tattooed on the back of his hand.

_Always_

_Always_

_Ours._

His blood buzzes, swirling violently in his veins, kindling with the tainted power he infused himself with. He revels in that undeniable force. It reminds him of the time he won his merge against his twin Jonathan. Every single member of his family thought he would lose as sweet little John was the more gifted of the two, the one Nature had cooed over and blessed with a distinct sensibility to its fabric and its craft. What his coven and his father had forgotten was that Joshua was always the more ruthless one. And he proved it when he sucked every bit of his brother's essence into him, a vicious smile on his lips as he witnessed his father break down at losing his favorite son.

He heaves a tired sigh now, breathing out the apprehension that coiled inside him and glances at the desiccated hearts disposed in the circle. Still beating. A smile stretches his lips as the features of Malachai etch in his mind. If he didn't hate the fruit of his own blood, he would gladly commend the kid for his ingenuity and that stubborn refusal to just fucking die. His son may have gotten the better of him for now but he's played this game much longer than him.

Clever got him this far and tricky will make him win.

Joshua stands up, cracking his neck, letting the dark liquid infuse further into his power.

"Burn the hearts and keep the ash into the red case, we never know if we might need more," he orders to the two women and the man sitting behind him, remnants of his lost coven. He turns when he hears footsteps in the lobby and he doesn't have to wait long for the golden hair of his daughter to appear, Liv opening the door and stepping into the room. The door closes itself behind her as her eyes roam the room, frowning at the witches rearranging the furniture.

"Damon's here," she tells him, "he's waiting outside."

"Punctual," he notices, meeting Liv's blue gaze, not missing the faint apprehension coating her eyes. "No word on your sister yet?" he asks, already guessing the answer.

Liv shakes her head, apologetic "No, she kind of disappeared on us. Haven't seen here since I brought her the wedding dress."

Joshua frowns, "You weren't at the wedding? I thought you were supposed to give her away."

"I was late and when I came all hell had already broken loose, thanks to Kai," Liv answers, her voice turning cold at the mention of his older brother's name.

Joshua sidles closer to his daughter, cupping her soft face between his hands. He locks inquisitive eyes on her, noticing her swallow thickly. "You wouldn't lie to me, would you Livvie?"

"No," she scoffs, eyes narrowed at his lack of trust in her. "We want the same thing."

"Kai dead or in prison, yes. But we also need to find you sister and protect her. Mostly from herself. Especially now, with the twins."

He watches, intent, as her baby blues widen, the words sputtering out her mouth. "How did you…?"

Joshua offers a wolfish smile. "I know a lot of things. Can't be a good coven leader, if you are not in the know of what your disciples do."

Clever got him this far and tricky will make him win.

"I'm doing my best to find her," Liv croaks out, like a guilty child recoiling from a parent's disapproving lecture.

"And you will. I trust you," Joshua reassures, tugging a rebellious curl behind her ear. "Now let's go talk to your Salvatore friend."

They find the older Salvatore playing with an old artifact and the vampire sharply turns around when Joshua tears the amulet off his hands and flies the object into his palm. "This is an old family trinket. Not fit to be in vampire hands" he says, as answer to Damon's angry glare.

The vampire snickers, and swaggers closer to him, Liv standing a couple of feet behind him. He stops and offers a venomous smile "So, you were right. Your son got his hooks on Bonnie. She won't help us trap him."

Joshua smiles, faintly and glances at the hand that Damon has unsuspectingly balled into a fist.

"It was to be expected. Kai has always been very good at getting what he wants from girls, especially pretty ones," he tucks away in the corner of his mind the telltale sign of the vampire's anger, not missing the possessive color in his voice when he uttered the Bennett witch's name.

He meets Damon's ice blue stare, cocking an eyebrow up. "I hope you didn't tell her I'm here."

"No. She thinks we couldn't reach you and you're in hiding or something," Damon replies.

"Good," Joshua nods, satisfied. "We can't have her clue Kai in."

"I'll handle her. I'll lock her up if I have to," Damon reassures, straightening in a show of confidence the Parker patriarch does not have much faith in.

"So what's the plan?" Damon asks, arms crossed.

"We stick to the one we already have," Joshua replies. "With my power, my friends' and Livvie's, it should be enough to get the best of Kai."

As he expected, he senses a touch of uneasiness in Damon's eyes. "So you won't need Bonnie?"

"No," Joshua shakes his head, plastering a warm smile on his features, reassuring. "I needed her power just in case Kai comes prepared. I hate contingencies."

Damon nods, seemingly satisfied. He meets Joshua's stare again, eyes glistening with a hint of hope. "And my mother?"

"Well, I will not help you get her out."

"But you won't stand in my way either," Damon finishes for him.

Joshua smiles again, nodding. "I want to save my coven first. Letting your mother loose is a steep price for getting rid of my son, but it's a price I'm willing to pay."

"Good to know" Damon sneers and extends a hand toward him. Joshua shakes it and Damon's yanks him forward, grip tightening. "I'll be keeping the 1903 ascendant, as a sign of good faith. And no need to tell you that I can get very violent if I am double crossed. So don't fuck with me."

Liv's anger flares, rippling in the room, and she's about to attack Damon when Joshua raises his other hand up, an order to stay put. He turns to the vampire and meets his hard stare. "I just want my son gone, the rest is up to you," he says, calm.

This seems to satisfy the vampire who lets go of his hand, Joshua cradling it against his chest, wincing against the pain shooting through his bones.

"We have a deal. See you in two days then. Papa Parker. Livvie," Damon says, in a taunting sing-song tone and heads out of the lodge, the cold night air rustling as he whooshes out.

"Are you ok?" Liv asks, rushing to Joshua as he massages his hand.

The Parker Patriarch barks out a laugh, smiling down at his daughter. Giddy. "Never better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all mistakes are mine


	8. Chapter 8

The afternoon sun warms their dorm room, ribbons of heat stab through the window, golden and translucent, lighting the brown stone of the hearth and displaying dancing patterns on the walls. Bonnie lies on her bed, listening to Caroline's soft voice humming notes of another top 40 pop song in the bathroom. A faint smile tugs at her lips, balmy contentment blooms inside her and she's thankful for these fleeting moments of peace, with no classes to rush to or supernaturals to battle. The deceptive silence in the eye of a storm that is rapidly picking up pace.

She glances at the books jutting out of the bag she had lazily thrown at the foot of the bed, pages upon pages retracing the history of Latin America and the events of the American Civil War.

Her Grams was right. History is a peculiar, sometimes dangerously powerful, thing. Tales spun, told and retold, erased and re-crafted as time goes by, that build people's consciousness and identity. The same events that happened before occur again with slight variations, a nudge of fate from time's axis offering familiar albeit somewhat distorted results.

Bonnie focuses on one of these slight variations. Her finger traces the indent on her neck, the mark Kai left on her skin during their tryst after the botched wedding. Her body still groans, tired yet still hungry since those 18 hours and 36 minutes she wobbled out of his home, nerves frayed, skin burning and heart thudding.

She exhales a long sigh, squeezing her eyes shut as she wills away memories of Kai's beguiling smile, his intent gaze on her, him in that sinfully fitted tux. Her treacherous mind only complies when distracted by the buzzing of her phone, hovering on her nightstand. Bonnie picks it up and frowns at the caller's ID. She puts it back on the piece of furniture and lies back against her cushions as Caroline enters the room, bundled up in a large towel while tendrils of orange blossom unfurl from her freshly showered skin and go tickle Bonnie's nostrils.

"That's the third call from Elena," Caroline states and Bonnie grimaces. "Care to tell me why you're avoiding her?"

"Not really," Bonnie drapes an arm over her face, not in the mood to revisit her shouting match with Damon and Elena.

"That wasn't a question, Bon," Caroline urges as she puts her pajama pants on. She slides an oversized shirt over her head and goes to sit cross-legged on her bed, inquisitive eyes fixed on her witch friend.

Bonnie heaves a resigned sigh and turns to look at her friend. "I kinda had a fight with Damon and Elena at the wedding."

"I figured as much. You were beyond upset when you joined us at the barn." Caroline wraps her damp hair in another towel and settles more comfortably on her mattress. "What happened?"

Bonnie sits up and recounts her fight in the stables, the memories of the harsh words traded leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. She feels vindicated when Caroline narrows her eyes at the mention of Damon manhandling her.

"That fucking bastard," her friend lets out, seething, "please tell me you burned him to a crisp."

"Just broke his hand," Bonnie answers with a tired smile. Caroline nods, anger rolling off of her in waves, fast replaced by apprehension clouding her baby blues.

"So are you and Elena on the outs?" she asks and her careful tone chafes against Bonnie's still burning resentment.

Bonnie shrugs, swallowing thickly, and frowns against the suddenly restricted air in her lungs. "I don't know. I think I just need a bit of time away from any vampire or doppleganger drama."

"Yeah, I think we all need a break to be honest. But-" and Bonnie exhales sharply sending a warning look toward Caroline. "Maybe don't be too harsh on Elena?"

Caroline's words elicit a disbelieving laugh and the vampire raises her hands, her words placating "You have every right to be mad. And to be done. With most of us."

"But?" Bonnie asks, curt.

"Remember this is vampire Elena. She was sired to Damon and still acts like she is somewhat dependent on him. She's not the Elena we've grown to know."

Just like that, Bonnie's anger melts into that sense of defeat, the one that weighed on her when confronting Elena during the wedding. It's an odd thing, to witness the spirit of a friend wither away before your eyes. And Bonnie traded the means to reverse the curse that erased Elena out of their existence with the guarantee of her own protection. Lucy has been wrong all along. Being in the middle is exactly where she never should have been.

"I know that she's different now," Bonnie answers, after a few steadying heartbeats. "I just wish it went like it did for you, like-"

"You wish she became like me, a better version of her human self?"

It is Bonnie's turn to lift placating hands, the bitter undertones of Caroline's reply not escaping her notice.

"You're not better than when you were human." Bonnie amends quickly, landing earnest eyes on her friend. "The old you spoke her mind and yes, maybe you were a bit bitchy, but you were honest and there for your friends. It's just that now you seem more confident, less insecure."

Caroline shrugs, Bonnie's words seemingly having the opposite effect of soothing her friend's pique. "I'm not always confident," the vampire mutters and Bonnie hears loud and clear what she doesn't say.

"And not to be my bitchy old self again, but Elena changed just when she started hanging out with your new BFF so watch out," Caroline states more forcefully, the usual traces of venom lacing her voice whenever she has to mention the older Salvatore.

"He's not my BFF," Bonnie snaps back.

"Whatever you say," the vampire shrugs. "Seems like she got the bad boy treatment. Mind blowing sex in exchange of poor decision making. That also makes you turn against your friends."

Caroline's words find a deafening echo in Bonnie's mind, leading her thoughts to her own predicament with Kai.

"Why do I feel like we're not just talking about Elena," she asks, heaving a tired sigh and plopping back against her bed. "Is that what happened with you and Klaus?"

"Kind of."

"Why did you do it then?" Bonnie turns to study a pensive Caroline, her usual cheerfulness waved away by the melancholy she rarely allows anyone to get a glimpse of. Constant reminder of the life she has been robbed of.

"I made sure he would leave." Caroline says, tone soft. "I made him promise never to come back. So I could selfishly indulge in that stupid attraction I had for him."

"Do you regret it?," Bonnie's heart races a touch faster, fingers squeezing her lungs when Caroline's silence stretches and fills the room.

The vampire replies with a noncommittal wave of her shoulders, her turn to lie on her bed, gaze lured to the ceiling. Bonnie watches as Caroline swallows and closes her eyes seemingly taking in the slew of memories rushing back with the turn of their conversation. Her voice is surprisingly even, when she answers, swathed in tired acceptance, as if she made peace with herself over these events a long time ago. "I regret betraying Tyler's trust. I regret fucking his mother's murderer."

Bonnie almost recoils at the muted violence behind the vampire's words, thrown out with no preamble or sugarcoating.

"But I'm happy not to have to wonder. Not to think of what could have been." Caroline adds, a touch wistful. She huffs a breath, an end to the internal argument she seems to have with herself. "And I won't see him ever again. So I got my closure. Sort of."

Bonnie lets the words settle in her mind. Caroline's confession is the push she needs to help strengthen her resolve. That reliable steely Bennett determination crumbled when she allowed herself to taste Kai's deceptively sweet silvertongue and gave way for the alluring venom of his words to take root in her thoughts. She nods to herself, deciding on what she should have done long ago she thinks.

As if on cue, she feels Caroline angle her head to set an assessing gaze on her. "This is what you are going to do with Kai right? Repeat what I did with Klaus?"

The sense of loss almost makes her heart drop, dragging her certainty with it. But Bonnie is nothing but resilient; she has the iron of a potent bloodline in her veins. She made herself into a one-woman army. Always the first, most times the only one, on the front lines of vampires and dopplegangers' battles.

She's Nature's weaponized vengeful right hand. Although her mistress has seldom been kind to her, eager to punish every time she strayed from the reason of the power thrumming in her blood.

So, sacrifice doesn't frighten her anymore. With what she's already lost or chosen to let go, it is akin to going back to a home she's learned to hate but that still is comfortingly familiar. And habit is what she needs right now. It was fun while it lasted at least, she thinks.

"He's a murderer, Caroline," Bonnie repeats the mantra that she smothered into silence those times she let Kai's fingers make her skin shiver. "He killed children. He killed his family because he hated them. I can't let whatever is going on between us happen again. And as you said, if I make sure he leaves, I'll find closure."

Caroline doesn't say anything, just turns her eyes back to the ceiling. Her silent words are heavy in the air, rendering it too hard to breathe. Bonnie heaves an annoyed sigh, relieving the pressure on her ribcage, and glances at her friend. "What?"

Caroline shrugs. "Nothing. I just … just make sure you're doing it for the right reasons."

Bonnie frowns, puzzled at the vampire's reply. "It was only sex, Care."

"Yeah but that's the thing. You've never done just sex, Bon."

"Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess."

Her reply does not seem to appease a doubtful Caroline who sits up and studies her. Her intent gaze lets Bonnie know that she only needs a robe and a pair of horns to finish off her new appointed role as Devil's advocate.

"Didn't he get like a personality makeover or something?" Caroline starts, making Bonnie smile at the intimate way she's come to know her friend. The vampire barrels on, seemingly not noticing. "I mean didn't his sister invite him to her wedding?"

Bonnie snorts, nestling further into the bed, "Yeah, the same sister that sent me to a creepy face museum of horrors. I almost got stuck there."

Caroline waves her answer away, still advocating the case of the Gemini trickster "And he cooked dinner to apologize to you"

"For torturing me and terrorizing me and also stabbing me," Bonnie fires back with a snicker.

"While still in psycho mode." Caroline corrects, and adds "And he almost died to save you."

"Because he needed me to further his plans," Bonnie sits up, narrowed eyes attesting of her growing irritation. "Caroline, come on-"

"Look, I just want you to see all sides of the argument. How many people ever apologized to you? For anything? Besides me, of course." Caroline raises her brow, challenging. "Contrary to Klaus, the guy seems to have a conscience now, right?"

Bonnie barks out a laugh, "A conscience has never stopped anyone from being a monster. His new conscience didn't prevent him from almost killing Alaric and Damon at the wedding. And his friend would have killed Stefan and Elena had I not been there."

"But he didn't." Caroline presses on, adamant. "Because you asked him too."

"Because I had to ask him to, Care. Not because he didn't want to," Bonnie retorts more feelingly.

She sighs against Caroline's silence, rubbing her fingers on her tired eyes.

"Look, I know what you're doing. But I don't … I don't want to be this person anymore. This person that excuses people, that lets horrible shit slide because hey, there's another horrible thing out there or because it selfishly makes me feel good. I don't want to live like this. My grams didn't raise me to become this person. This is not me." Bonnie locks eyes with her friend. "This is not you."

Caroline's ensuing humorless laugh drips with bitterness and it's empty and hollow to Bonnie's ears; it makes her chest tighten achingly. "And yet that's what we are now, Bon. You helped kill thousands of vampires, and I killed 12 witches. We are friends with the likes of Damon Salvatore, going out with Rippers, making deals with the Originals, helping get another uber Ripper out."

Caroline chuckles again and each snort is like a little stab to Bonnie's heart. She thinks of Tyler's uncle she helped Damon kill, of Carol Lockwood. Of Vicky. Of Luka and Jonas Martin. Of Grams and Abby. Of her dad. She thinks of the countless angry ghosts that she carries with her to her bed. Spirits whose whispers fill and stretch her sleepless nights, whose presence feeds the remorse that weighs more and more on her conscience. Statistics. Just statistics she used to remind herself. And yet all these statistics have names. And faces. And reasons to be vengeful.

She wonders if Kai can feel that kind of guilt. The one that makes you want to forget to breathe.

"We have enough blood on our hands that even bleach won't ever be able to wash away." Caroline adds, tone almost numb. "The trick is to learn to live with it."

"I don't think I want to anymore." Bonnie mutters and looks up to meet Caroline's sunken gaze. She exhales sharply, burying toxic regret under heavy layers of resentment and anger. She can build with anger, she can be strong with steely righteousness straightening her backbone.

So her voice becomes harsher, exasperated.

"And the last thing I need is Kai staying here and having another daily crisis on our hands with Damon trying to kill him and the town suffering again for it."

Her words infuse life back into Caroline as she clucks her tongue and wags an accusing finger toward Bonnie. "Aha! And this is the wrong reason I was implying." The vampire tilts her head, a frown marring her features. "You're not doing it for you. You're doing it for Damon."

"I'm doing it for everyone," Bonnie waves her arms in disbelief

"You're using Damon's demands to not think about why you may not want to stop this… thing with Kai." Her friend states as a fact, punctuating her sentence with a sharp nod."Fucked up psychology. That's my area of expertise, Bon."

This knocks the wind out of her sails. Her mind drifts back into the murky waters of these poisonous feelings, maddening whispers he breathes into her, that she keeps bottling up. Emotions are like magic to Bonnie. Uncontrolled, with no bridle to restrain them, they can become that formidable wave that breaks the floodgate protecting her sanity. And if expression taught her anything, that kind of abandon, of ravenous freedom, scares the living daylights out of her.

"It's scary, ok?" Bonnie answers, reluctant. "My life is already messed up and the little I thought I could control-." The words stay lodged in her throat. She pushes the air out of her lungs, lessening the pressure on her left ribs, and meets the softening eyes of Caroline. "I really don't need this right now."

"Is it because of Jeremy?"

"No," Bonnie quickly replies, befuddled. "What's Jeremy to do with this?"

"Well," Caroline settles more comfortably on the bed, laying on her stomach, and props her chin between her palms. "As much as you want to protect everyone, you like to have a certain control on things, and yes I know, pot – kettle – black. You knew where to stand with Jer, you loved him and you protected him and he was there for you when we couldn't be."

Bonnie warily nods. "So?"

"You have no idea where to stand with Kai. And it ruffles your feathers. Again, bad boy effect. We all went through it," Caroline chirps, with a small smile.

Bonnie snorts, shaking her head, "yeah but that's different, I'm not-"

"Like us?" Caroline retorts with a smug smirk. "Guess you are now. Why do you think I'm enjoying this so much?"

Bonnie groans, rubbing the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "Have I mentioned how much I hate when you think you're right?"

Caroline chuckles, the lilt of her giggle rendering the air lighter around them. "For once, I can lord something over you, so let me have my fun."

Bonnie's lips curve into a parody of a smile, forlorn and not reaching her eyes. She tries to remember the last time she didn't feel this tired, didn't feel this heaviness push against her shoulders, threatening to make her bend and break. Caroline reaches out and curls cold fingers around her warmer ones and Bonnie clings to the touch anchoring her back to the world, reminding her she's not alone.

"Look," Caroline says, bringing Bonnie's attention back to her. "I get why you're doing it, and more power to you that you can play Miss Independent, flaunt your PhD in Martyrdom, and your unchallenged title of Savior of Mystic Falls. But do it for the right reasons, do it for you, because you do not want more of this. Just please, don't do it for your new vampire douchebag BFF-"

"For the last time, he's not my BFF," Bonnie replies, annoyed.

"Good," Caroline retorts, fast and curt. "Because I can't stand him. So I'd hate to have to see less of you if you start hanging out with him."

Bonnie meets Caroline's sharpened gaze, and pays heed to the electric glint sizzling in her blue pupils. It sends a shiver running down her spine, exhuming the uneasy feeling that comes to her every time she witnesses how cold Caroline turns when the topic of conversation veers back to the Salvatore vampire. The question of what happened between her friend and her prison world companion always stayed there, hovering on the tip of her tongue, crowding the space in the room but Bonnie never asked. And now, she doesn't think she wants to.

She can see Caroline sense the tension that took hold of her heart and her friend offers one of her trademark fake cheery smiles, clear eyes warning Bonnie not to dig the matter further.

"And please take into account the mind-blowing sex when making your decision." Caroline expertly changes the subject and Bonnie's mind short circuits for a beat then she silently curses at her friend when it is flooded with memories of the four times Kai erased the world around her and left her yearning for more.

"Like I would base any decision on that," Bonnie grumbles.

"Oh please, do you see yourself every time you come back from his place?" Caroline snorts, unimpressed as Bonnie narrows her eyes. "Well, I do. You look all frazzled and trembling and ... well fucked. Hell it makes me horny. Actually, I need to find me some witch with that sex juju your Kai has, because I need some of that."

This brings out a reluctant smile out of Bonnie, that she tries her hardest not to let light up her features. To no avail as it finds its mirror image in Caroline's lopsided smirk.

"I'm sure you're having all the fun with the legendary Stefan Salvatore vamp sex too, so," Bonnie counters but her attempt at making her friend smile falls short, the cheeky mirth in Caroline's eyes dimming along with the upturn of her lips.

Caroline tries to let go of her hand but Bonnie tightens her hold on her friend's chilly fingers, raising an eyebrow to will her to talk, and let her know she's here to listen. So Caroline huffs a long sigh and speaks. "I'm kind of putting the brakes on whatever is happening between Stefan and me. I'm like Taylor Swift. I need 'me time'."

Caroline chuckles but there's no life behind the manufactured sound. Bonnie offers a wan, understanding smile.

Caroline locks eyes with her, the corners of her mouth faintly tipping up. "So you see I'm kind of living vicariously through your pretty amazing sex life right now. See how the tables have turned. Ugh I need my mojo back."

Bonnie laughs at that, quickly followed by Caroline; and warmth blossoms again, spreads through the room and mingles with the first bleeding rays of a dusky sun. They eventually let go, and both lie back on their respective beds. Caroline's fingers drum a light little beat on her chest while Bonnie props her hands behind her head and watches as the ceiling becomes the stage for a shadow puppet show, branches like dark crooked fingers dancing on the wall.

The faint sounds of breaths inhaled and exhaled tangle with the rustling of silence shifting between them, and complement the drumming of Caroline's fingers. The queer, dissonant notes tickle Bonnie's ears. They soothe her nerves, neaten the mess of her mind, and slow time enough for her to reconcile the train of her thoughts with the beating of her heart.

"He's a ticking time bomb, Care," Bonnie says eventually, voice a touch above a whisper. "Yes, he might have feelings and a conscience now, but it doesn't change that he can still be violent and scheming and a sociopath."

"Like everyone around us," her friend replies.

The vampire's drumming fingers set a tempo for the soft humming that escapes her lips and Bonnie feels the building annoyance at her friend's response wash away. Caroline seems to sing more now that her mother is gone, but Bonnie doesn't dwell on the reason why. The lingering spirit of lost mothers is always hard to shake, a hollow echo in the now empty spot they used to share in their daughters' minds.

Bonnie sighs. "I have enough on my supernatural plate to add anything else to it. I don't care if it makes me selfish or a coward but I can't … I have to stop this thing with him."

"It doesn't make you a coward," Caroline answers, fingers still beating that soothing tempo on her chest, and the sound rebounds against Bonnie's bones, rhyming with her pulse. "If anything, it makes you a strong person who has her priorities straight."

"Yeah, well at this point it's more like self-preservation," Bonnie says wryly. She rolls to her side, her arms pillowed under her head, and peers at her friend.

The drumming stops and Caroline mirrors her movement, turning to meet her soft gaze, body curling into a ball on the bed.

"Self-preservation is exactly what we need. It's way better than falling for alluring bad guys who are no good for us. I wish I was strong enough to do that sometimes."

Bonnie reaches out and takes Caroline's hand in hers. She looks at their tangled fingers. The last traces of daylight bring out the bronze of her skin that clashes against pearly white. A reverse similar pattern, a slight variation. Fate's nudge that offers the same albeit somewhat distorted result.

"You are strong Caroline," Bonnie tightens her hold on her friend's fingers, infusing warmth into her cold, cold bones. "No one could have survived becoming a vampire like you did. Your dad tortured you, your mom was scared of you. You turned and needed help and I wasn't there -"", and Bonnie swallows the bitter, chafing taste of guilt. "You went through a lot of things, sometimes because of us. Because Elena and I left you in the dark about the supernatural. Honestly. I don't know how I would have survived everything if you hadn't been there. 12 witches included."

Bonnie's heart clenches when she sees the watery sad smile, only reply from Caroline. She breathes hard against the growing lump in her throat and offers a grin of her own.

"Ugh, we're such a mess," Caroline snorts and sniffs, eyes blinking against the silver veil coating her blue eyes.

Bonnie chuckles, never letting go of her friend's hand. "Yeah, we sure are."

They both snicker and Bonnie commits this moment to memory, tucks it into one of the little nooks in her heart. A little slice of autumn warmth to be used for the coming cold and rainy days. The vampire sobers and peers more seriously at Bonnie.

"Maybe talk to him before you end it," Caroline advises and Bonnie nods, resigned. "And you better do it fast. We're getting Mama Salvatore out tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know," Bonnie sighs, weary. Her eyelids are like stones, exhaustion weighing heavily on her tired limbs.

She opens her eyes at the pressure of Caroline's fingers on hers, only to meet mischief dance in powdery blue pupils. "And have a last romp for old time's sake"

Her eyes are wide and indignant and make Caroline cackle. "Come on, if not for you at least do it for me. Listen to your pimp," her friend orders.

Bonnie grins. Caroline laughs again.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

"Ok, so when's the next episode?" Kai stretches lazily on the sofa and flicks his fingers conjuring the half empty bottle of wine sitting on the nearby table.

The drum and bass from the end credits rolling on his plasma screen pound the air and bounce off the living room walls. This time he didn't even bother to renovate the place. The dinner table, standing in the far left corner, still bears the scars carved by Bonnie's magic when he had her pinned there the night before. Its burned wood taunts him every time his eyes land on it.

"Next April," Soe Yun replies, munching on a slice of raspberry and lemon pie.

His hand stills when refilling their glasses. He sends an alarmed look toward Soe that makes her almost choke on her mouthful of pie. "April? Isn't the season like 22 episodes?"

"Nope, not on HBO." Soe smirks against Kai's aggravated pout and takes the glass he offers her. "You'll have to wait a bit to see your red witch and her shadow baby."

"I have to wait seven months?" Kai all but whines. He settles back on the sofa and sips his red wine. "What's a man to do for seven months?"

Soe shrugs, helping herself with the last slice of pie. "Well, a man can imprison his dad, manage that crazy coven of his, maybe have more x rated sessions with a certain Bennett witch?" she replies, wiggling her eyebrows.

Kai smirks but doesn't say anything, taking a last swig of wine. He starts picking the dishes, putting them in a pile. A wave of his hand sends the pile to find its way into the kitchen sink. He turns to meet Soe's narrowed stare and raises his brows in question.

"Sooo..." Soe Yun's lips stretch and curve, more snake than human. "She didn't dump you after all."

"Apparently not," Kai answers with a smug feral grin of his own.

"Lucky bastard." Soe sneers and he barks out a laugh. Soe's eyes turn pleading, like a child asking for permission, and she punctuates her look with a fake innocent pout. "Are you sure I can't borrow her? Like, just for a day. I'll bring her back to you with no scratches. Promise."

Kai fixes her with a cold look that erases any trace of mischief from Soe's eyes. "Like I already told you, you don't touch her, you don't go near her," he orders. The upturn of his lips masquerades as a dark smile and echoes the warning in his blank stare and the silent threat in his lowered voice.

Soe huffs a loud breath, annoyed. "Ugh, the old you was way more fun," she retorts, petulant and disappointed. "So I guess there's no more girlfriend sharing with that conscience of yours."

Kai snorts, easing the tension. "Pretty much. And she's not my girlfriend."

"Oh please, you can't go all toxic macho – the girl is mine – and act like she hasn't you wrapped around her little finger." Soe sits up and starts mimicking Bonnie's voice. "Kai, please don't kill my friends," she utters in a simpering high pitched tone and then turns to a lower, grave timber that is supposed to sound after Kai's. "Put a leash on your dog and then come to my house and let's make witch babies."

This earns a chuckle from Kai as Soe Yun turns unimpressed eyes at him. "Pathetically whipped," she snickers, shaking her head.

"I'm not whipped," Kai counters. "I just happen to have amazing sex with her. So, no touchy, looky or talky."

"Fine." Soe waves away his words with a flick of her hand, peeved. "Be that way."

"Be that way?" Kai rolls his eyes at his friend's silent tantrum. "I pay your apartment, I cook and I feed you, I take you to my sister's wedding, where there was an open bar and free food, I let you have some fun with vampires and I'm that way?"

"Uh, yeah." Soe Yun retorts, snorting when Kai makes a face. "Small payment for my help to take down your evil daddy. Now, we might be even if I get a taste of your little witch," she argues again but the attempt falls on deaf ears.

"Soe..." Kai all but growls and she throws her arms up in reluctant defeat.

"Like I said. Fucking whipped," she hisses, crossing her arms and Kai only shrugs. His head fills with flickering flashes of the night before, the aching whimper Bonnie let out that made him almost lose his mind drums a maddening beat in his ears.

"So what's going to happen when Darth Parker is locked up?" Soe Yun's words bring him back to the sharpened edges of reality he cuts himself on. "What are you going to do with the Bennett witch then?"

Kai rakes an uncertain hand in his short hair. Bonnie is one of the major kinks he still needs to iron out in his future plans. For all of Malachai's protests, his inner sociopath had to make room for Bonnie to take permanent residence in his mind, the wandering threads of his thoughts tethered to soft bronze skin and glorious fiery power.

"Dunno yet," he offers; noncommittal, suddenly in need of alcohol to bear with his friend's inquisitive mind.

"Aren't the Bennetts old allies of your coven?" Soe presses on.

Kai smirks. "Yeah but Bonnie is pretty unconventional for a Bennett. Don't think she'll fit in Portland."

"You're not a conventional Parker either," Soe Yun objects. "The only traits you share with your siblings are your Gemini power and the Parker ruthlessness."

"We'll see," Kai says, tone firm, eager to close the matter.

"Well think fast. Your father should be here in a few days."

"I know," Kai mutters. He can imagine his father's terrified eyes framed by the realization of his punishment. Black eyes fusing with the backdrop of an Expression filled prison. "My biggest loose end was for him not to interrupt Jo's wedding. Good thing Jo did that by herself."

"Yeah, that was pretty neat." Soe nestles more comfortably into the sofa and rubs her stomach when it growls and groans. Kai lifts an eyebrow and Soe shrugs, unapologetic. With a huff, he waves a lazy hand and brings out two ice cream cones and two beers.

He snorts at Soe's huge, face splitting grin as she grabs her chocolate flavored cone and wastes no time chomping on it. Kai follows suit, taking a bite of almond ice cream, the taste rolling out of his tongue and the mix of sugar and softness makes him turn to peer at the dinner table and the signature Bonnie left on it.

"Still no news from Jo," Soe asks between mouthfuls of ice cream.

"No," Kai answers, frowning at the gnawing inside of his stomach, the prick on his neck that frays his nerves for a split second before his heart returns to normal. It started since the wedding every time he thinks of his twin. "She's not returning my calls. And Liv said she was fine. Apparently, she's been freezing me out since the wedding debacle."

Soe swallows her last bite, and snorts, loud and unladylike. "Well this is rich. Isn't she the one who asked you to take care of future ex?"

"Well, she asked me to tell him" Kai replies, munching on the biscuit of the cone. "I don't think she meant us trying to kill him and his friends."

"Details," Soe says and chugs her beer. "These fuckers are the ones who started it. Now they know not to mess with us."

Kai barks out a laugh. "Don't be so sure." He picks his beer and takes a swig. "From what I gathered, logic isn't their strong suit."

"Wow, belligerent _and_ dumb?" Soe snickers, and Kai grins at the scorn brimming in her eyes. "How did these fools survive this town?"

He lets his lips lazily lean into a faint smile. "Bennett witch."

"Oh. Figures." Soe smirks, her turn to eye the table that still breathes in the lingering essence of Bonnie.

Bonnie's words creep at the seams of his re-puzzled mind, and come to knock against his skull. Destroyed the Other Side. Became the Anchor. Desiccated an Original hybrid. Got the best of Silas. Wielded Expression. Bonnie sure did not slack after discovering her powers. Although Kai cannot understand why Sheila never told her of the specificity of the town. To at least prepare her for what was expected of her granddaughter.

_Bravado and ego. Old hag thought she could handle the town by herself._

Kai snorts. Sometimes, Sheila Bennett did miscalculate. Badly.

The town was built on a witch burial ground, the lingering broken magic, trapped in its confines, making it the perfect supernatural magnet. One that his coven was comfortable letting fester to weed out most of its non-supernatural residents until the Gemini had to intervene. Which meant the slaughtering of all the supernaturals in the area. Prison world for those showing promise or could prove useful in the future. A quick easy fix that did not require endless dealings with each type of species. And sent a message everyone has to pay heed to. Good thing for Bonnie he got out before her precious Mystic Falls was reduced to the bare bones and deafening silence of a ghost town.

"Just give Jo some time." Soe Yun says after finishing the last of her beer. "She'll come around. She always does. Especially where you're concerned."

"Yeah, but Liv has her ear," Kai replies, the thought making him grimace. "God knows what she's telling her right now."

"Whiny brat," Soe mutters.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for my messed up mind, she would have been first on my kill list."

"Good thing you didn't merge with her though." Soe titters, mocking. "Can you imagine having her as part of the new You."

"I would have put a bullet through my head, stat. Coven be damned."

Soe laughs at that and he smirks again. "I'll give Jo another day. Help on operation get crazy Ripper out. Then I'll go talk to her."

"Are you really going to let that thing out?" Soe asks, turning raised eyebrows toward him.

Kai smiles, shark like and Soe responds in kind. "That's not very nice. Giving false hope like that."

"I'm not giving false hope." His grin stretches. Malachai snickers, giddy. "I'll let her get out."

"Yeah, knowing full well she can't be controlled."

"Which will give me the perfect excuse to lock her back in. With the rest of her family this time."

"Your little witch is going to hate you for that."

"Well, that's Gemini business and that will happen only if the brats she calls sons can't deal with her." Kai says, scratching his head. "Besides, I'm only targeting those stupid brothers. I'm not touching her friends."

"Now that's the Kai I remember," Soe offers, beaming like a child. "I missed that version."

"Of course, you did. With a black heart like yours." Kai snorts, rolling his eyes.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Soe retorts. "Do you need help for tomorrow night?"

"Nah. Should be good." Kai yawns, running his eyes. "I'll call you if I need you."

"Yeah, well, remember I have no vamp speed and I'm no Gemini."

Kai shakes his head and is about to offer a cheeky answer when that prickle stings the back of his neck again. A little jolt to his heart. He frowns. "Do me a favor though. Check on Jo tomorrow since she doesn't want to see me. Just to make sure she's fine."

"You got it. I'll go by her apartment in the afternoon. Got a hot date before," Soe says, smirking. Kai chuckles but stops laughing when her stomach groans again.

He sends her a befuddled look that Soe answers with a challenging one. "Fast metabolism." She hisses.

Kai sighs and mentally calls upon the ingredients needed for an early dinner making them fly out of the fridge and settle on the kitchen counter. He stands, heading toward the kitchen. His eyes settle again on the burned table, memories of Bonnie etched on every inch of wood. He thinks of the plans he made, his psyche jostling with the puzzle piece that is Bonnie and where she is supposed to fit. A thought comes to him. He smiles, makes up his mind and goes to cook Soe her dinner.

That thought stays with him the following morning, during breakfast and as he showers, puts on a pair of jeans, a shirt, hoodie and jacket before heading out for lunch. It stays wedged at the forefront of his mind during the whole car ride and leads him to the bustling streets of Whitmore College.

It doesn't take long to find the building where her room is situated and he sits on the stairs that pave the entrance to her dorm. He waits, returning the smiles some pretty students send his way, thinking about his father en route to Mystic Falls, of Jo who still refuses to return his calls.

He can sense Malachai crawl, uneasy, under his skin and Kai frowns again at the needling, although unable to pinpoint why he feels like something doesn't add up. The traces of disquiet are however washed away by a wave of Bennett magic, sending a sweet charge skidding through his bones and making the spikes of his own aura sharpen.

Kai watches as Bonnie makes her way toward her dorm, smiling at the outfit that complements her enticing curves.

Knee high socks flirt with the hem of her blue skirt, short enough to offer a teasing glimpse of skin. Her white blouse highlights the light brown of her skin and Kai wonders how it would feel against his fingers as he takes it off of her. He sees her tighten the coat around her petite form, to shield herself from the autumnal breeze. Petite form that holds the violence of a hurricane in her fragile human and decaying bones.

A grin twists his lips when Bonnie looks up and her eyes widen, noticing him, the spring in her step fast weighed down by her surprise. He stands and peers at her as she sidles closer with careful steps.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, eyes narrowed.

"Hello to you too." Kai grins at the eyeroll Bonnie replies with. "Someone seems happy to see me."

Bonnie's stare turns into a glare and she looks around her, making Kai chuckle. "Relax. I think enough people know by now. I'm not your dirty little secret anymore."

Kai smiles as Bonnie huffs an annoyed breath and he moves toward her. The threads of her magic pull him close and he stops a breath from her. Pride sends a sweet taste to his mouth when he sees her shiver and swallow hard at his proximity.

"Actually I need to talk to you." He says, repressing the need to run his thumb on the lower lip Bonnie worries between her teeth, oblivious to what it sparks in him. "So, lunch?"

Bonnie frowns, seemingly mulling over his words. He watches her nod to herself, square her shoulders. "Ok, I need to talk to you as well."

"You do?" he asks, puzzled.

Bonnie nods again and he can feel Malachai stop pacing and pay attention.

"Okay then. My place?" he offers and raises a brow when Bonnie shakes her head.

"There's a restaurant nearby. Easier to get to my classes after." Bonnie says.

Kai grins, wide and wolfish. "Or you just want to make sure that all we do is talk."

Bonnie shrugs, seemingly stifling a smile of her own. "Something like that."

"As the lady commands," he sing songs, and smirks at the snort escaping her lips as they make their way to his parked car.

The car ride is akin to bittersweet torture, the first time both their auras are trapped in such a confined space. Each graze of her magic against his is a shot of adrenaline to his senses and Kai prides himself on his restraint when Bonnie is infecting his brain, filling the space between his left ribs and tightening her hold on that foreign growing muscle that makes him not tick like he used to. And from what he can see, she isn't faring much better, her hands clenched, nails digging in her palms.

_At Mike's_ is one of the busiest restaurants on Sylvester Grand Street milling with students and locals alike. It is large, white and covered in glass. It overflows with customers, and she makes them sit near the bay window, in full view of the street and passing pedestrians. Her obvious attempt to make their lunch as professional as possible would be cute if it didn't feed his need to huddle her into a closed space and finally let his mouth taste that sweet flesh of hers.

They sit, and Kai can see Bonnie's relief when the waiter comes to take their orders.

She waits for the restaurant employee to leave and turns clear piercing eyes toward him. "You first," she says almost business like.

"Not here for chit chat, I see," Kai deadpans, his eyes sharpening. Bonnie seems in a hurry to run for the hills and it chafes at his ego, injects poison in his heart and makes Malachai snicker. He hates when that sociopath mocks him.

"I just don't want to be late for class." Bonnie replies, a touch chastised.

Kai exhumes the thought that brought him here. He carefully picks his words, weighs them in his mind, feels their power on his tongue before stringing them together, coating them in silver and offering them to Bonnie.

"Well, I was wondering what your plans were after the Mama Salvatore rescue mission and me getting rid of my Father," he starts, picking his glass and sipping on the water.

He can sense Bonnie stiffen under his gaze and her brows crease in confusion. "Why?"

"Your ancestors and your Grams were old allies to the Gemini coven," he replies, eyes still fixed on her. "I was thinking you can maybe come to Portland, and see in what capacity you can take up your Grandmother's mantle."

A smirk plays on his lips when he sees Bonnie at a loss for words, seemingly overwhelmed. She swallows and meets his gaze. "Why me?"

"Well, you're kind of the only Bennett I know, right now," he shrugs, not wanting to seem too eager. "As coven leader, I'd rather deal with someone I know I can work with."

Despite his words, Bonnie doesn't jump at the offer and he's not surprised.

For what he's seen and gathered, Bonnie is seemingly easy to convince when favors are requested by her friends, especially in life and death situations. Her willingness to help also extends to the people she hardly knows but who are magically given the Bennett stamp of approval. The last recipient of that Bennett compassion was the rest of his coven when she traded her freedom against their survival in his prison.

But that courtesy stops when it comes to him. Even when he's the one offering instead of taking.

Bonnie continues to be skittish and on edge around him, despite their shared intimacy. It became all the more obvious when he stopped playing the role of villain she grew accustomed to in that never-ending May dimension. So, faced with her deafening silence, and not for the first time when dealing with her, Kai almost feels like walking on a tightrope, trying to stay atop the fragile line of Bonnie's regard.

"Besides, we have a lot of Bennett grimoires accumulated through time that might interest you," he adds, trying to sweeten the deal.

It's Bonnie's turn to pick her glass of water and gulp on it. She pushes air out of her lungs and at long last meets his questioning eyes. "Thank you for the offer. But I have to decline," she says, lips twisting into a faint disingenuous smile.

"I thought you'd be interested in learning more about the Bennett history," Kai presses, not to be deterred.

"I have plenty to learn. Yes. But I'd rather do it by myself," Bonnie replies. He snorts at her words, a touch mocking, which sparks her frown. "And to be honest, the last time I took an offer from a Gemini, I got almost stuck in a face museum prison."

This makes Malachai raise his head. Kai lifts a brow, puzzled. "You went to see Astrid?"

"Your sister sent me there."

He snickers, shaking his head.

_Sneaky little Jo._

"Glad to see it makes you laugh," she sneers, straightening.

"Please, you would have never gotten stuck there." He retorts. "Unless that temper of yours rubbed Astrid the wrong way. She had a soft spot for your sweet little granny. But I'm sure you would have known that eventually, learning it by yourself, right?" His tone verges on bitter and his words become blades that he has no qualms carving into her grating self-righteousness.

Bonnie seems to wilt at his answer, sensing his changing mood and shrugs. "Thanks for the offer, anyway," she says, a softer lilt lacing her voice.

"I don't get it," Kai replies, not letting her off the hook. "It's a pretty good offer. You come to Portland, learn about your history and see if you can take up your Grams' work. You don't even have to stay there, just visit a few months a year. No wrong decision to make here."

Bonnie heaves a wary sigh, "I'm sure there are other Bennetts that would jump at the chance. I'm just not one of them."

"I don't need other Bennetts," he counters.

"Well you'll have to find someone else," she fires back. "And with my classes, I don't think I'll have time."

"It's still not a good reason to say no," he presses on, letting out a disbelieving laugh.

"I don't trust you, ok?" Bonnie finally caves, shooting her words like bullets.

Kai leans back into his chair, his pride absorbing the blow.

Bonnie exhales a sharp breath and meets his blank stare.

"I'm sorry, but I don't trust you or your weird coven," she says, losing the edge that coated her voice earlier. "With everything that happened between you and your family and when we were in the prison world… I just don't think I want to have ties to any Parker or Gemini business right now."

She ends her soliloquy seemingly out of breath, taking another gulp of water and looking at anything but him.

_She's right, though. Monsters don't change skin so easily. And we're still monsters. As much as you try to deny it._

Kai swallows a chafing reply, anger bubbling inside, the whispers of resentment eager to remind Bonnie that her low opinion of him didn't deter her from sleeping with him. Instead, he lets the disappointment, touched with hurt, out with a small laugh and nods to her.

"Okay," he says, sharp eyes peering at her uneasy smile. "Your turn. What did you want to talk to me about?"

Kai watches as Bonnie seems to repeat his previous actions. Carefully choosing what to say and weighing its meaning. She looks up to lock determined eyes with his. "I just wanted to make sure you leave after imprisoning your father."

Her words, this time, are less an explosion than a slow blade stabbing its way between his lungs, fanning the angry fire burning through him.

He offers a wide smile and a raised eyebrow, prompting the rest of her thoughts to stumble haphazardly from her tempting lips. "I mean, we all have enough on our plate right now … and with what happened at the wedding… I'd rather you leave before there's a round two between you and Damon. It's the last thing this town needs right now."

And he wishes he'd killed that annoying Salvatore parasite right there and then. Green poison spreads through his veins and Malachai chuckles.

"Of course, let's not hurt precious Damon's feelings," Kai deadpans, his lips curving into a cold grin. Bonnie's about to fire back when he beats her to it. "All good, but since you're Damon's self-appointed messenger, you should tell him that my coven will keep a close eye on his mother."

She purses her lips, her gaze turning wary and Kai smiles at the desired effect his words brought on.

"If she strays once, not only will she be locked up again, but your precious vampire will be stuck with her as well." he wraps his warning in the sweet baritone of his voice, a snake like grin stretching his mouth.

Bonnie's eyes widen but she recovers quickly and she lets out a bitter laugh. "This is why you and your deranged coven are a perfect fit. Damon is not responsible for his mother's actions."

"He's the one willing to get her out." Kai shrugs lazily. "He's the one that will be vouching for her." He meets her narrowed eyes and snorts. "And you'll be the one doing the babysitting and the clean-up."

Her face falls for a few seconds before she regains her bearings and schools her features into a cold mask. "You still didn't confirm you would leave." She says, chin jutted up, defiant.

"Oh don't worry, as soon as my dad is locked up, I'll be out of your town," he promises with a faint smirk.

"Good, can't wait," she retorts with a fake simpering smile. She doesn't hold his assessing gaze and he watches as she turns her green eyes to the customers milling in the restaurant. His silence seems to unnerve her and he hopes it does. The wheels of his mind turn, aided by a slight nudge from Malachai and an idea blooms out of the dark soil of his thoughts.

Kai eases the pressure of his aura and Bonnie seems to feel it at she heaves a sigh, looking up to him again. He offers what he hopes is a convincing genuine smile, waiting for her to speak.

"Now that I think of it, I'm not that hungry," she says and he nods, anticipating her attempt to run from him. "I think I need to go back to the dorm"

"Yeah, no problem," he replies. "But at least, let me drive you back, you'll have more time before your classes."

She hesitates, sending him a prudent look.

"It's the least I can do, since I'm the one that got you here," he presses on and Malachai whistles his approval.

She nods then, matching his grin with a faint smile.

Kai pays for their uneaten meals, to the relief of their waiter, and follows Bonnie out into the street.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

The drive back to her dorm is silent and as excruciatingly tense as when they went to the restaurant. Bonnie forces herself not to look at Kai, not to dwell on the sinking feeling dragging her stomach down, pushing her heart in her throat. Her treacherous body thrums under the brushes of his magic and she regrets ever agreeing to let him drive her back to Whitmore. Kai's effect on her makes it even harder to close that brief but intense chapter and lock it away to be exhumed only for the lonesome days of self-reflection.

Her mind goes back to the short yet loaded conversation they just had. The word yes weighed on her tongue upon hearing his proposal, dragging it down, making it hard to talk and to look at him. So she let the snake like whispers of doubt remind her of what he had done to her there, where no one could hear her scream.

When Kai offered what she's always wanted on a silver platter, fear gripped her, chewing away at any semblance of certainty she had cobbled together. Not everything that glitters is gold after all. Change is a concept that she was forced into but never learned to add to the fabric of her very bones. Not willingly.

Bonnie sneaks a glance toward Kai and her eyes land on his jaw, faintly spattered by the stubble whose sweet burn her body reminds her of, the times she is free to listen to herself. The quiet shrouding them is testament of the impact of her words, certain to leave invisible bruises on both of them.

Relief battles disappointment when his car takes the last turn leading them to her makeshift home. Bonnie tries to push down on the want that started pulsing down below, rippling through the fragile, sensitive skin circling her core. Kai pulls over at the curb, near her dorm and switches the ignition off. Her heart jumps when Kai's fingers whisper against the nape of her neck, a shiver tickling all along her spine. Bonnie swallows and turns to meet his darkened eyes and wan smile.

"One last time?" he asks and Bonnie is almost scared to break the moment. So she nods.

Her eyes paint their surroundings, taking in the bustling crowd of students coming and going from classes and Kai replies to her silent question. "Don't worry, we're cloaked."

"Take off your coat," he says and the timber of his voice breathes his command under her skin. She feels his eyes on her as she toes off her ballerinas and peels the coat off of her. Bonnie moves to straddle him and he pushes his seat back to allow her more space. The hem of her skirt rises up, revealing the bronze skin of her thighs. Anticipation knots her stomach so tight it traps the air in her lungs and Bonnie waits for Kai to touch her. Kai only watches, head tilted, as if debating where to put his fingers first.

The air sizzles, funneled by her magic, turning hot, and Bonnie feels the buttons of her blouse undo themselves one by one, until the air brushes against her bare abdomen. Kai's hands move to the soft fabric and Bonnie feels it caress her back before being unceremoniously thrown on the passenger seat.

Kai doesn't say anything and it adds an electric crackle to the atmosphere. He focuses on stripping her of every item of clothing and Bonnie wonders at his silence, probably residual anger or disappointment at being shot down that he tries to work out of this. Her heart races, and hiccups and restarts at every brush of his fingers skimming her skin. She tells herself she doesn't care as long as he gets her off and gives her what she needs.

The shining rays of the sun stab through the translucent glass and lure her eyes toward the students passing by the car, unseeing their occupants. She hears her bra unclasp itself and Kai's fingers tug the straps off of her shoulders, sending the piece of underwear to find its way near her blouse.

Bonnie locks eyes with him and trembles at the feral grin stretching his lips. She digs her nails in his jeans and Kai takes it as his cue to start. He snakes his hands under her skirt and she bites her lip when his fingers trail a path on her thighs. His hands slide under her panties, and his palms greedily cup her ass and knead the supple skin. His fingers find the hem of her panties and slide them down her legs to her knees.

Kai looks up at her, clear eyes meeting her half hooded ones and offers a faint smile. "I hope it's not your favorite" he says and Bonnie doesn't have time to register his words when he cuts through the lace and severs one strap, her panties dangling off one leg, freeing the access to her throbbing core..

She actually did like this pair, and wants to glare at him but shivers when she sees his hungry eyes roving her body. She feels exposed under his stare as she sits topless, pantie-less and aroused on top of him in his car. Like all the sugary fantasies teenagers love to fill their mind and their nights with.

And Kai doesn't seem in a rush to just get on with it already, his eyes the only ones doing the touching, although they leave a trail of goosebumps in their wake. He eventually looks up to her, offering a small fake apologetic grin and puts his hands on her waist, fingers running frustratingly slow circles on the small of her back that make Bonnie's skin hitch and sigh. He trails his fingertips higher, and her breathing turns ragged just as a group of students stop to lean on the hood of his car. He watches her intently as his thumbs trace the lines under her breasts and his hands palm them.

Bonnie swallows a moan and her nails dig again into the fabric of his jeans. Kai stares at her and kneads her breasts making her let out a strangled breath when he rubs her nipples agonizingly slow and hard between his fingers. She feels him stare at her like he's dissecting every reaction, every quiver in her lip, sputtered air exhaled, eyes almost black, brow furrowed in focus.

The way he looks at her is almost as unnerving as what he's doing to her and she leans into him, hands going to grip the back of his seat. She fixes her eyes on the back glass, watches the throngs of young students milling about while he is putting her through sweet torture, rubbing her nipples taut. Her heart races when she feels him lean forward, his breath tickling her warm skin and Bonnie whimpers a curse when he pulls one breast into his mouth, her other nipple still painfully squeezed between his fingers.

Bonnie swallows thickly as he rolls his tongue around the skin, tugs the sensitive nub with his teeth and sucks on it. Her nerves become livewires shooting electricity in her body, sparks converging into that pulsing aching spot low, low down to her center. She feels herself get moist and inhales sharply as Kai continues to torment her, seemingly with all the time in the world, sucking with purpose on her breast, rendering its skin painfully sensitive while trapping her other one under the pressure of his fingers. His free hand travels down her back, slides under her skirt and squeezes one of her ass cheeks and air stays trapped in her lungs.

She needs his hands to trail lower but she won't beg.

He already has her all but naked if it wasn't for the skirt bunched at her waist while he's fully dressed, dignity out of the window, and he's viciously, purposely making her ache under his touch. Students and professors alike are teeming the busy street and pass her, oblivious to her ragged breathing and throbbing core and sweet, sweet torture he's inflicting on her. No way in hell she'll beg. Pride is the last thing she has left now and he isn't going to wrest it from her.

So she sinks her teeth in her lower lip, her plea for him to give her release buried in the breath that catches in her throat as Kai slides his tongue around her areola, unwilling to give in to her silent need. Instead the bastard exhales a breath on her soaking wet breast, skin pulled taut by his mouth and he nips at it, little bites on the tender flesh. Bonnie squeezes her eyes tightly shut as he pops her other breast on his mouth and sucks forcefully on it.

Both his hands end up cupping her ass; they knead and pinch the skin, rings digging and marking her and her center throbs harder. It takes him agonizingly long to sate his hunger when he releases her erect nipple with one last graze of his teeth on it and Bonnie welcomes the air that soothes the reddened skin. He grabs her hips and gently pushes her back to lean against the steering wheel, her hands clutching at whatever she can to balance her posture.

It's uncomfortable as hell, but she needs him to touch her down there and she sighs in relief when she feels his nimble fingers edge down toward her quivering center. Kai watches her, gaze serious, fraying her nerves again, when his thumbs lightly brush against the lips of her vagina. Her heart jolts between her ribs and she bites the inside of her cheek. No begging.

Kai runs a long finger along her slit and Bonnie stifles on the urge to pounce on his hand. She sends what she hopes is the most vicious glare she can muster, her sputtered breath forcing its way out of her mouth. He chuckles and runs two fingers more forcefully along her entrance and she closes her eyes at the electricity coursing in her veins. She lets out a smothered _ahhh_ when his thumb rubs against the nub of her mound.

He rubs circles on her clit, eyes never leaving her face as her breath turns shaky and her eyelids half droop in pleasure. Her arousal, a ball of lightning, presses hard on her lower belly when his left hand hikes up. His fingers pinch a nipple and Bonnie jerks over him. She can hear hazy whispers from bits of conversation of the students outside leaning on the car as she tries to swallow another moan.

Bonnie lets a muffled keen when his fingers part the inner lips and he enters one then two fingers into her wet fold. The world shakes and she cries out. The coolness of his rings inside her is a relief to the warmth spreading through her, curling her toes and Kai stretches her from inside, in slow strokes, taking his time. He curls his fingers inside and her hands fly to the door window while the other lands on the windshield as she tries to rock against his knuckles.

Kai deliberately, slowly pulls his fingers out, and shoves them back knuckle deep into her. She can feel herself tighten around them and tries to tell him to pick up the fucking pace but the words stay lodged in her throat, adrenaline making her body tremble when he rubs her clit and rams his fingers deep inside again, his nails grazing a spot that makes her cry out for a second time.

She inhales sharply and he pinches her breast again and she grits her teeth, trying her utmost to trap the loud moan scratching inside her throat. Her body burns, her skin is on fire but her orgasm stays locked at her center, pressing at her core and searing and it hurts and it feels so good and she just needs him to make her come, to make it explode inside her.

Bonnie bites her lower lip hard again losing herself in the tangled sensations of one of his hands back on her breast, while the other fucks her in excruciatingly slow, deep, teasing strokes. Kai's fingers lightly graze the skin inside her and she arcs her back on the steering wheel, head tilted back, finally letting out a strangled, "Kai please." Her eyes land through the windshield on the students laughing while she's burning from the inside, while something is pulling her stomach taught and it just won't let go.

She squeezes her eyes shut, a strangled whimper having the best of her when Kai bites hard on her breast, pinches her other nipple and shoves his fingers deep into her. Bonnie moves herself forward, clinches the driver seat, pulling her body more into him, and rocks against his fingers.

She tries to move faster but his hand lets go of her breast and grips her waist to keep her in place.

"Don't move," he orders against her skin and her anger only comes through pleading whimpers that she knows is exactly the reason he's doing this, the reason he's making her achingly unravel. She wants to tell him that fine he's won, he fucks her like nothing she ever had and to let her get off already but the words stay silent, captive under the pressure crushing her lungs, clenching her heart, when his mouth is at her breast again, feasting on it, sucking the skin taut, rolling his tongue around her nipple again.

Bonnie can only throw her head back, gritting her teeth, exhaling sharply. Kai rotates his fingers inside her, his nails lightly scratching the nerves there, shooting another charge that races through her bones. His thumb presses harder on her clit and his teeth sink into the soft sensitive flesh of her breast. Pain and pleasure collide violently shaking her from her axis and she cannot rein in her "aaahh" as his fingers achingly, ungently pry the orgasm out of her.

Kai's magic laces around her body like sharp ivy, scratching her skin and adding power to the fire inside her.

The group of students leaves the car and pass by her arched, agonizing body, muscles starting to ache under the uncomfortable position Kai has her captive in. Bonnie tries with all her might to contain within her the raging fire of her power threatening to burst out and set the car ablaze.

His mouth travels to her other breast and Bonnie's hand flies to the short hair at the back of his head, raking fiery nails against his scalp, burning him.

Kai hisses against her breast and retaliates when he curls his fingers deeper into her and abruptly changes the pace; pumping fast and hard into her. And she screams, jerking against his hand. The friction of his rings against the skin of her vagina is an electric shock running along her spine and Bonnie doesn't know if she will ever survive this.

His fingers finally press against that spot, the one that makes her eventually beg, pride long forgotten, beg for him to just please fucking do it already. He rams his fingers impossibly deep, pinches one nipple and sucks on the other and Bonnie's muscles clench under the force of the adrenaline flooding her veins, ready to explode in her body, her heart ready to burst out of her ribcage.

She's about to come hard and violently when Kai abruptly stops, pulling his fingers out and letting go of her breast.

He leans against the driver's seat, cool eyes appraising her.

Bonnie locks disbelieving eyes with his, panting, disheveled and out of sorts, trembling and naked. She winces against the orgasm, so fucking close, that sears her vagina, trapped inside her, waiting to be released and her pupils dance with puzzled shock.

He didn't kiss her once. That should have been her first clue.

Kai glances at his fingers coated in glistening liquid, proof of his undeniable effect on her, and locks expressionless, Malachai-like eyes with hers, offering a fake innocent smile. "Maybe you should go find someone worthy of you to finish you off. I'm sure your precious Damon would love to jump at the chance."

Fury settles in then. She slaps him hard. When she hears him chuckle she goes in for a second slap but he catches her wrist in his palm. She burns his hand. He lets out a loud curse, sending her a dark glare which causes her heart to skip a bit. Before making her see even more red.

The snicker escaping her lips is cutting and dripping with venom, as she angrily picks her blouse and puts it on, trembling hands haphazardly buttoning it up.

"You're such a piece of shit," Bonnie hisses and sets blazing eyes on him.

She hopes her words cut deep enough and burn with the anger raging through her. "Is that your way to punish me? I say something you don't like and you retaliate. Is that the new Kai?" she asks.

Bonnie can see him clench his jaw, betraying that her words have the intended impact and it sends a thrill through her that she can hurt him back. "And you wonder why I want nothing to do with you."

Kai snorts at that, conjuring a tissue to clean her wetness off his hand.

"Well not nothing, since you sure are pretty happy to be fucked by me," he fires back, snide smile contorting his lips. "Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you the one who started all this? You kissed me first, remember?"

"Because I was drunk on magic!" She almost shouts in fury. "And believe me I hate myself enough for it."

She picks her ballerinas and puts them on, still straddling him. She moves to tear her body away from his but his hands curl on the steering wheel and trap her between his arms.

Bonnie turns an icy glare toward him. "Let me go or I'll melt your face off and then torch your car."

"Not before you tell me why you're so comfortable letting me have my way with you and then do a 180 and keep punishing me for what I did." He says, through gritted teeth. "Do you even realize how hypocritical you are?"

Bonnie barks out a laugh. "That's a thousand times better than being a child killer."

It's Kai's turn to let out a bitter, venomous laugh. "Yes, because you have no blood on your hands. You and your friends are just walking special snowflakes. Got it."

Bonnie sets her features closer to his, locking fiery eyes with his cold ones. "You killed children, your own family, your own brother and sisters. Because you wanted to. Because you hated them," she barks out, articulating every word to give them more weight and hit more forcefully and bruise his already wounded pride.

His face falters for a beat at the reminder of his deeds, his aura spiking up dangerously. "I know what I did. No need to remind me," he says, voice dangerously low. "And there's nothing I can do to change any of it."

Bonnie feels her anger deflate and ebb away in slow tidal waves, rolling off of her, only leaving hurt and resentment. "Just because you feel guilt, doesn't change what you've done. Just because your father-" and she stops when he glares threateningly at her in warning and she exhales a sharp breath. "That side will always be there, inside you," she adds, bile rising in her throat.

Kai lets out a despondent laugh, lifeless and hollow. "Just like Damon and from what I understand most of your friends." He counters, her silence adding a layer of truth to his words. "Damon kills but makes pancakes made out of remorse and it's ok. But when I apologize and almost die to save you while your precious Damon and Elena were fuck knows where, oh no, Kai is the Antichrist."

"You didn't do it for me," she fires back, exhaustion creeping into her and conflicting with anger. "You did it for you. To assuage that pesky little guilt that we, normal people, have to live with every. single. day. Don't you dare guilt trip me just because you helped save me. It's the least you could do after the hell you put me through."

Kai shakes his head, swallowing hard and lands stormy eyes on her. "You killed me first."

Bonnie's disbelieving chuckle is dark and full of malice, "Because you were a crazy psycho who harmed me first. Newsflash, siphoning _hurts._ "

"And you were going to leave me behind," he fires back. "You and Damon. After I gave you all the info needed to get you out."

He glares at her narrowed eyes. "How many times will I have to apologize for you to accept it when you're so quick to absolve Damon. Why are his words so much easier to believe than mine?"

The question and the earnest anger seeping from him make Bonnie's heart pound in her ribcage. Her mind becomes a jumble of thoughts and her body echoes what she seeks to keep buried "because…" she starts, the words failing her.

"Because why?" He asks unrelenting, voice less steely, eyes searching hers and fear spreads through, its fingers smothering her heart into surrender.

Bonnie answers the only way she knows how. "Because it's none of your business," she says, tone curt and cutting. "Stop your apologies. I don't care about your apologies, I don't care about you and you can go play your mind games with someone else."

Kai laughs, almost hysterical and the defeat seeping from his stormy, blackened eyes chafes at Bonnie's now shredded certainty, digging out feelings she promised herself to keep tightly locked.

"You think I like this?" he asks her, snide smile mirroring the renewed sharpened cool in his eyes. "You have no idea what it means to never know who or what you are, second guessing everything because you don't know what the real you is anymore. Two months ago, I was dying, bleeding out, trying to get you out, while another part of me was tearing my brain apart to make me survive."

His words shock her into silence. Elena's tale was similar but light on the details, skimming on Kai's actions to ensure her loyalty toward their incestuous little gang. Kai's words breathe a second llife to Elena's tale, paints a vivid picture of what happened and leaves Bonnie at a loss. Kai seems to take her silence for indifference and Bonnie doesn't have time to the stop the anger coloring his aura, and it erases any trace of the earnest longing that simmered in his pupils.

His eyes turn blank and Bonnie braces herself for the impact of his impending words. "I might be a murderer, yes." Kai acknowledges this, his voice even and deceptively calm. He stares back at her, calculating and adds, "But you were fucking a murderer, so what does that make you?"

"I know what it makes me." Bonnie bites back, choosing to focus on righteous anger instead of other treacherous feelings she's not ready to face. "And I want it to stop. You're separating me from my friends, my life is a mess. I hate myself and I hate this. And the sooner you leave, the sooner I get my life back."

Kai snorts, malicious and spiteful. "And what a life it is." He snickers, almost scornful. "At the beck and call of vampires."

He laughs again, and it's bitter and toxic, it corrodes at the rusty iron protecting her heart. "So much power, and yet you're so weak."

Bonnie juts her chin, challenging and prideful. "Yes, because stabbing and drowning defenseless kids is so fucking brave."

Her retort wipes the snide smile from Kai's features, his face falling as the shadow of bloody memories settles on his feaures. Guilt runs its burning blade through her and she welcomes the pain but tells herself she doesn't care. Not anymore.

Kai nods and slowly lets go of the steering wheel.

"I think you should go," he says, voice light, eyes silent and void of color. "We're letting the ripper mom tonight. You should have just enough time for Damon to finish you off."

Anger burns bright and red. "Fuck you Kai," Bonnie fires back through gritted teeth.

"Already done," is his sharp reply.

Bonnie snorts, hurt and tired and angry. "Yeah and what a mistake that was."

She grabs her coat, tears her panties from her leg and throws it to his face in fury. "But you're right, I think that's what I'm going to do," she says, lips curving into a cutting smile, voice soft and deadly. "That's what I should have done instead of ever allowing you to touch me."

Kai smirks, viperish, "Glad we agree on something."

"Great."

"Fine."

"Fine!" She flings the door open and gets out of the car, not sparing him another glance. His eyes stay fixed on her. The spikes of his aura cut at hers and she retaliates by sending a fiery jolt in his direction, violently pushing his power away from her.

She hears the tires scratch angrily on the asphalt and the sound of his car speeding out of her neighborhood.

Bonnie smothers the hurt infecting her veins and cleaving hollowly her heart. She takes a calming breath, as her trembling hands clutch her bag like a lifeline. She forces herself to think of getting Damon's mother out, focus back on the mission.

It's okay, it's all for the better, she tells herself and drags her still burning body to the dorm. Her lower belly throbs achingly at the feverish need Kai ignited and left trapped in her bones.

The sun bleeds red in the horizon.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

An erratic sky aches and groans over him, desperately holding rain filled clouds and he feels its weight on his shoulders while the chill bites at his cheek. Kai makes his way through the darkened woods, grey colored horizon smothering the light out of the moon. His steps are soundless on the carpet of crunched leaves and he can feel nature shift and scratch and breathe in the anger that has been boiling within him since his fight with Bonnie earlier.

He buries the harsh whispers of Malachai, ordering him to stop being so fucking distracted, far back into the tumultuous hurricane of his thoughts. Yet, he cannot shake the discontent pricking him all over, stinging the tips of his magic.

The taste for blood, the need for release in violence that used to inject exhilarating madness into his veins, filling the bottomless void where his heart should have been, burns bright, always there, like a strike of permanent lightning searing his bones. But something keeps him from indulging in it. The same thing that keeps Malachai locked and it makes Kai feel as if under the effects of some new Ludovico technique.

Something's wrong. He knows it now. He can't find Jo. Soe told him her apartment was empty and his locator spell went haywire. Liv's fucking with him and he wonders if Jo is a willing participant or not. His twin is no stranger to staging disappearing acts. And the last one lasted 18 years without anyone finding her.

The only thing that mildly reassures him is that his father is still far from Mystic Falls. The last spell Kai cast earlier in the day to track him indicated Joshua has just arrived in West Virginia. At least, this gives him some time to find Jo and her twins before his father learns of his missing daughter and does something about it.

Liv must have convinced Jo to disappear once again.

Kai can imagine his brat of a sister filling Jo's ears with her poisonous words, easier to believe after his attack on Alaric. He can hear her snotty voice preaching to his twin, _I told you he was still a crazy murderer, I told you how dangerous he will always be, he will never change, not even for you_. His baby sister's voice morphs into the lower timbre of Bonnie saying the exact same words, reminding him of her accusations a few hours earlier, giving them even more vindication. And Kai sees red.

Traces of familiar magic come first, teasing and taunting, and they tangle then with the cold, silent absence of life that are vampires' signature. Kai reins in the red anger and colors it blue, into cold venom that flows in his veins and hardens his heart. He schools his features into Malachai's aloof viperish mask and swaggers into the clearing where the Mystic Falls gang stands waiting for him.

The vampires, both Salvatores but also dear Elena and the blonde one whose name he never really caught, turn to see him enter the clearing, eyes instantly narrowing, air turning cold and thick. But Bonnie doesn't acknowledge his arrival. She keeps her head bent on the ascendant, features purposely hidden behind a curtain of hair and the grey shadows shrouding them due to lack of light. Her stiffened stance and awakened magic are the only proofs of her sensing his presence.

"You're late," Damon sneers.

Kai smiles at the vampire congregation and fills the clearing with the power, tainted with black, that has become his second skin. The air cuts like a razor, spun with harsh whispers that echo the sky's growl. The curve of his lips leans into a smirk when he sees the gang tense and wince.

"And you need me to get your Mother out," he replies, malice dripping from his soft, conversational tone and wide grin. "So you should keep your mouth shut before I change my mind and trap you all in 1903."

Kai beams at the flash of fear that colors the pupils of the vampires and feels Bonnie's searing glare on his temple. He doesn't spare her any glance. He said the words callously, but the idea turns more and more appealing when he watches Damon possessively hovering around Bonnie and the expectant postures of the vampires, arms crossed, waiting, seemingly used to witches obeying and doing their bidding. This makes him even angrier.

Kai waves his hands, parting the air and the vampires with Bonnie are harshly moved out of the center of the clearing. A sliver of moonlight stabs through the dark grey sky and paints the soil with its silver glow. The vampires stumble before regaining their balance and their eyes shoot daggers at him. Damon snarls, ready to attack but Bonnie catches his arm in warning, effectively stopping him from doing anything stupid. The green eyed monster wreaks havoc inside Kai but he only smirks and flicks his fingers drawing a pentagram on the ground, the spot of moonlight as its center.

He flies the ascendant out of Bonnie's hands into his, the thoughtless gesture making her magic burn. Her Bennett power adds weight to the air, the trees almost tinder ready to burst into a raging inferno. Kai swallows the faint traces of magic escaping her, testament of her growing anger, but he doesn't placate her, not caring to coddle to her anymore. Instead, he strides wordlessly into the pentagram stopping at it silver lightened center and he feels Bonnie reluctantly follow and come to a halt beside him.

He turns to her, eyes however landing on the vampires approaching to form a circle around him inside the pentagram. He presses his left index to his right hand palm, power rushing to its tip, coloring it black. He drags it on the skin of his hand and it cuts a red gash across his palm. He smirks when he feels Bonnie's stare fixated on his hands, tethered to the magic he's just performed. Expression really does have its perks. He still hasn't looked at her once since arriving and he can sense how it makes her cringe. Good, he thinks.

Kai presses his fingers into his palm, urging the thin stream of Parker blood to dribble down and render the ascendant dark red. He then places the Gemini artefact open on both his proffered hands while Bonnie sets hers over it, her palms down touching the traces of blood coating the metal.

Her eyes settle on him and he meets her gaze with the coldest stare he can manage, satisfaction warming him when Bonnie's features fall and his snide smile make her swallow thickly before averting her eyes. The short sense of victory is fast squashed by pesky, unrelenting guilt that runs its serrated edged blade inside him, making bile taint his throat and leave its bitter taste in his mouth. He can't wait to get the fuck out of this place and put distance between him and the mad need her presence sparks in him.

"Listen up", he says, voice controlled and even. "When you guys arrive in 1903, you will have 2 hours on the clock to find your Mama and stand at the exact same spot you came in so I can get you back."

As he predicted, the vampires scoff at his words, protests ready to fill the air and he can see Bonnie frown in suspicion.

"And before you get your panties up in a bunch, I'm only sending Elena and Damon. The others can stay as insurance."

Silence drapes over them and Damon and Elena approach Kai from each side. Kai turns to Bonnie and raises a brow. Bonnie nods and closes her eyes. He follows suit, the words of the spell stumble out of his lips. Power, bigger than his bones, surges and crawls out of the cage that is his body to answer his call. It touches with Nature, twists the incantation into life.

And something sharp cuts through.

Kai stops. His power pays heed and swirls back into him. It stays just under his skin, waiting.

The sting is familiar albeit brief, a breathe-and-you'll-miss-it type of graze. But what makes his heart skip a beat is that he would recognize this essence anywhere. He opens his eyes, swimming in cold fury, to meet Bonnie's befuddled ones.

"What did you do?" he asks, voice a harsh rasp, dangerously low.

"What? I didn't do anything," she says, panic coating her green pupils.

The sky bellows, the sound of thunder explodes in the air.

And the feel of a hundred knives cracking his skull makes him fall to his knees, the vampires and Bonnie following in his wake, cradling their head in their hands.

"Hello, son."

Kai hears the words loud and clear as Joshua Parker, Liv and three Geminis uncloak themselves, auras woken back into life, and appear before the crouched, still squiggling supernaturals.

Kai can fight the pain, but instead lets it attack his synapses, overplaying his reaction to the familiar spell. He needs to play dead and not show his hand. Not with the person he's facing.

Liv raises her hands and a grey shield knits itself around them, trapping them all inside.

Joshua whispers what seems like orders to the other witches and the pain recedes.

Kai stays on his knees, eyes shut and he can feel Bonnie's aura turn fiery. Nature stays silent around him, a referee not picking sides yet. He senses Bonnie rush to him but his Father's words stop her dead in her tracks.

"I wouldn't do that, Miss Bennett. If you want your friends to survive this, I recommend you go and stand beside them. And don't interfere," Joshua says, voice soft, yet threatening. "Bennett blood is too rare to be spilt for the wrong reasons."

Bonnie doesn't move and Kai then looks up, meeting her worried gaze, as she stands like a shield between him and his Father. He offers a reassuring smile and shakes his head. Bonnie seems to hesitate but eventually moves out of his vision to stand beside her blonde friend who instantly takes her hand, pulling Bonnie behind her.

Kai turns cold eyes toward his father and snorts. "Hey, Dad."

His Father shares his chuckle and beams snakelike at his son. "Malachai. You are a hard man to surprise."

"You are a hard one to track," Kai replies, snickering.

That earns another chuckle from Joshua, fast erased when Damon snaps at his Father. "What the fuck is this?"

Kai watches as Joshua looks at the Salvatore vampire and everything falls into place.

_Motherfucker._

"A problem, vampire?" Joshua asks a seething Damon, tone velvety and polite.

"Yeah, that wasn't part of the plan." Damon lets out through gritted teeth, making his companions and Bonnie look at him. "You said you'd wait until we get my mother out first."

The vampire's words send a shockwave through the shield. Kai feels anger coated with betrayal flow through him and he sends an icy glare toward Bonnie whose eyes widen. Malachai snickers darkly, letting the repeating mantra of _I fucking told you so_ hammer inside his head. Indeed, she played him like a fucking Stradivarius and he didn't see it coming. He chuckles again, bitter and resentful, letting out the crippling hurt that makes it hard to breathe. Focus, he needs to focus and wait for an opening to get the hell out of this mess.

And then heads will roll. Literally. No more nice, stupid Kai.

Joshua smiles wide and the air turns even colder, while Liv smirks at the Salvatore vampire. "I lied." He tells Damon and Kai laughs heartily this time, shaking his head.

"What's so funny dickhead." Damon sneers, hands balled into fists. "Won't be laughing much when you get stuck back into your prison."

"God, you're so fucking dumb." Kai says, after exhaling the last of his laughter. "You really thought you could make a deal with my dad? With the man who hates vampires even more than his freak of a son?"

Joshua nods at Kai's words, amused and polite smile still in place, "Your mother will never get out. One wrong move from you and I will send you to rot with her there."

"Damon," Elena warns, under Joshua's watchful eyes, and she tugs the Salvatore vampire away from the Gemini Patriarch. Damon raises his hands in defeat and goes to stand between Elena and Stefan. Joshua smiles again, satisfied, attention back toward Kai.

Kai watches as Damon glances to his brother and he feels the ground rumble seconds before both vampires lunge toward the Gemini witches. Kai smirks when he sees Liv raise a palm and the Salvatores fall to the ground at Joshua's feet. They never stood a chance. Not when witches can feel nature shift under their feet before an enemy even starts attacking.

The youngest Parker then closes her raised hand into a fist and blood bursts out of Stefan and Damon's eyes and ears. The Salvatore vampires scream when their arms and legs snap in unison, each one breaking in half. With a flick of her fingers, Liv sends their bodies toward Elena who rushes to them, the blonde friend in tow, as they help the Salvatore brothers heal and put their twisted limbs back into place.

Joshua turns to look at a now fearful Bonnie who protectively steps in front of Elena and the blonde vampire. The Parker Patriarch grins, a predator sizing up its prey, and Kai's skin crawls, unwanted memories rushing back in.

"How did you erase your trace?" Kai asks, the thought coming to him unbidden. He needs to get as much information as he can to outsmart his Father. "I've been tracking you for days."

"There's a reason we didn't teach, you, children, everything." His father replies. "Moments like these are a good reminder why secret knowledge comes in handy."

Kai snorts, reluctantly admiring his Father's forethought, constantly putting Joshua one step ahead. Even ahead of him. His eyes land on a silent Liv and that familiar cold fury runs through his bones. He meets her hate filled stare with a glare of his own.

"Well, you must be happy, Livvie Poo," he sneers and Liv offers a vicious smirk in response. "You will finally get your revenge."

"This is for Luke," Liv growls, hands balling into fists. "You killed him and now you will pay. There's no place in the coven for a crazy freak like you."

Kai snickers, and sees Liv straighten, her magic ready to rip through him. "I'm the freak alright." He admits, bitter, before meeting his sister's baby blues. "And yet, you're the one who traded Jo's life for this. You are willing to give him Jo for this," he says in a cold, cutting tone, the worst of his fears materialized with Liv standing at the right side of his Father.

Liv's smirk falters at his words, a frown marring her features, and Kai's heart stops. Something still doesn't add up.

She recovers quickly, and chuckles, shakes her head and dismisses his words with a wave of her hand. "You think you can manipulate me. You think I'm that stupid." she replies, her words like blades, pressing hard against his Adam's apple. And they cut. They cut not for what she says but for what she seems not to know. "I'm not here to listen to your lies. I'm here to make sure you will rot in the hell you belong" she spits, voice hard yet dipped in uncertainty.

"Jo's missing, Liv," Kai tells her and the cold fingers of realization smother his heart as his eyes land on a silent Joshua.

"Lies," Liv snaps at him, eyes incandescent. "You're such a fucking liar."

"Jo's missing. And you're the last person who was with her," Kai says again and Liv sends a powerful blow, yet, lacking intent, that he catches in his palm, swallowing it. He grimaces when her power ripples through his bones, before the void inside him feasts on it. Liv's about to let out another cutting reply when their Father beats her to it.

"She was." Joshua says, his words a gunshot in the silent clearing. Liv instantly turns toward her father, eyes wide, traces of panic turning her pupils electric blue.

Joshua looks at Liv and offers a faint smile. "You didn't think I wouldn't know of your little plan, did you Livvie?" he asks, lacing his words in a fatherly tone, the one used to gently chastise children. Liv takes a step away from him, shaking her head, hands trembling and aura wavering. "Like I told you, Jo needs her Father to protect her. And her twins are the only chance at furthering our bloodline," Joshua says.

"Where's Jo, Dad?" Liv's voice cracks and fear makes it difficult for Kai to even breathe, his eyes glued to his Father's face.

Joshua Parker smiles again. The grin is familiar, the same one his Father always wore after hurting his twin sister during their childhood. A content smile. A smile Kai has grown to hate and dread all the same. "Somewhere safe," Joshua reassures and Kai's stomach sinks.

_Let me out. Now._

Malachai roars in his cage, Kai's fear feeding his need to take matters into his sociopathic hands. He will let him out but he must buy a bit more time.

"Tell me where she is. Right now. Or I won't help you trap Kai," Liv orders, voice still shaky, despite her efforts to control it.

Joshua's lips curl into a patronizing smirk, and he approaches Liv who takes another step back, magic growling under the tip of her fingers.

"You will see her only after we get rid of Kai. I promise." Kai hears his Father assure. "Or else, I might have to hurt her and you know I don't want that, Livvie,"

Liv swallows thickly, eyes wild. She hesitates, seemingly finally seeing the true face of Joshua Parker. She waits for a few heartbeats and nods, slow and reluctant under the deceptively soft gaze of the Parker Patriarch.

Kai is about to stand up, muscles aching, but his vision blurs when Joshua sends a nasty spell to corrode his bones, making him double down, screaming in real pain, head clutched in his hands.

"Now, enough talk. Let's get you to where I should have sent you the first time around," Joshua says, curling his hands and Kai twists like a broken doll on the ground, breathing in the awful feeling of iron fingers squeezing his skull, threatening to burst it into tiny little pieces.

"Burn the vampires, and keep the Bennett witch, we might need her," he hears his Father order, the words tumbling in his mind as the spell fries his insides, the pain exacerbated in his brain.

Bonnie, he thinks, hearing the fire of her magic roar against the approaching Gemini witches, searing the air pocketed in Liv's shield. They won't kill Bonnie.

The burning chars his lungs, like scorching blades flaying his skin raw.

The spell slowly ebbs away and unglues itself from his flesh when Kai hears Joshua walk toward him, making his heart beat faster as he treads closer, sparking familiar apprehension. When the sound of his feet stops, his eyes look up to his Father towering over him against the backdrop of a grey sky angrily swirling outside of the shield, a square silver artefact in his hand.

_You have to let me out, Kai._

Wait just a little bit, Kai silently orders. And don't kill anyone but my Father.

_I will kill anyone trying to hurt us._

Kai swallows blood, thick and rubbery. He sees his Father stretch his hand open over him and an invisible knife cuts Joshua's palm, black liquid dribbling out of it into the square metal tool and dropping onto Kai's face. He hears Bonnie and the vampires scream, another blast of scorched air hits him. Panic makes his heart pounce against his ribs.

"Never seen that ascendant, dad," Kai sputters, the words painfully coming out like sharp iron scratching his constricted throat. "Another one of your dirty little secrets?"

"Something like that, son," Joshua lets the black blood drop on the square ascendant that hovers in front of him, black smoke swaying round and round like a growing tornado out of the artefact. He looks down on Kai when he hears him chuckle.

"I am glad you find your demise funny, son," Joshua says, eyes now enraged, reminding Kai of the first times he cast the spells destined to cure his 6-year old self of his curse. The same magic that left him bloodied and hurting. His Father had this familiar fury burning behind his pupils as he tried spell after spell, mouth twisting in anger when his son's anathema defiantly refused to be reset.

Agonizing screams pour into the shield. Kai smiles wide and Joshua's features crease into a suspicious frown.

"You have had your fun with me and Jo," Kai says, grimacing at the last tremors of pain still shooting in his bones.

He locks manic eyes with his Father's, a huge mad grin splitting his face.

The sky shifts over them and moonlight mingles with the dark smoke of the ascendant. Copper wisps filter through.

"My turn," Kai whispers and the Parker Patriarch hasn't time to react when two red spears stab through his flesh and bones.

The ascendant falls to the ground.

Liv's shield explodes in a violent blast.

The sky roars, the world trembles, and nature rumbles.

Kai turns to see the coppery tendrils of Soe Yun's magic engulf him.

Everything turns red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all mistakes are mine


	9. Chapter 9

_The ticking in his head is an itch he cannot scratch and makes him lose focus. Joey's already handing his ass to him at Dr Mario for the 4_ _th_ _time today and the look of youthful glee stretching his younger brother's features has fast turned grating._

_Kai huffs an annoyed breath at the "YOU LOSE" sign flashing on the living room's TV and Joey giggles. His 14-year-old self throws his arms up in the air in sign of victory. "Beat you again Mal. Who's the Dr. Mario boss? Who's the boss? I am the boss. That's who!"_

_Kai only chuckles, rolling his eyes and Joey plops back on the couch already ready for a rematch. The ticking intensifies._

" _Hey Jo", he asks once more. "When dad said he's coming back again?"_

" _In one, two hours tops." His younger brother glances at him, uneasy. "Sorry about your fight today. Sucks. Want me to call him to check so you can leave before he comes?"_

" _Nah, it's good. Don't worry about it," Kai ruffles Joey's hair, and stands, stretching his limbs. "I'm gonna check on the girls."_

_Joey smirks. "Got tired of me beating your ass?"_

" _Something like that," Kai snorts, heading out of the living room. "Oh, and don't eat all the pizza, like last time" he shouts, his steps already climbing up the stairs._

_Joey only replies with another guffaw before it is replaced by the tittering of Dr. Mario playing in the background._

_Tick tock, tick tock. The clock in his head hammers against his skull and rhymes with the steady beating of his heart. Anticipation translates into an eerie calm that shrouds him. He can hear Sarah and Claire bicker in Sarah's room, something about cloaking her favorite jump rope. Kai rolls his eyes, needing their annoying whining to stop._

_He makes a pit stop to his room, his hand meets time worn hard wood, then cold metal. His grip tightens on the smooth, reliable iron and he heads to Jo's room._

_Kai's knuckles are about to rasp on his twin's door when Jo beats him to it._

" _What do you want Kai?"_

_She's sitting, back to him, studying over books at her desk. Kai feeds on the bright flare of anger that shoots through him. Of course, she sensed him. His eyes fall on one of the books lying open on her table, familiar, detailing the human anatomy._

_He steps into the room, closing the door behind him and hears Jo sigh._

" _Look, Kai, if it's about the merge and your fight with Dad-," she starts, still not looking at him. He keeps the hand behind his back and his grip tightens again. The ticking sound comes to a stop._

" _Don't worry Josette, I'm not here for that."_

_Something must have colored his voice as Jo turns to look at him. She stands, taking careful steps toward him, offering an apologetic smile. One of the many she freely gave to him, that he learned to decipher and differentiate. This one was to placate, to make him not lose his temper and keep him calm until his Father comes back._

_Kai meets her smile with one of his own and reveals his Father's hunting knife in his hand. He watches, fascinated, as fear etches on Jo's features, her eyes widening, pupils turning so, so blue the more her face pales._

_In one swift motion, he stabs her. He pushes the cold metal through her belly, flesh is torn, bones bend and crack, and keeps it lodged there. Jo's about to scream when he catches her wrist with his other hand. Kai rips the magic out of her skin. He looks on, as his twin's features twist in agonizing pain, her scream caught in her throat, while he eats and eats and eats. Liquid fills her blue eyes. So blue. Such a perfect color for her._

_He shuts his eyes and feeds, ravenous, on that power that was forbidden to him. He tears it away from her and swallows it, lets it seep into his blood and give him this sense of vindication. Like he was home again, turning him into what he was always supposed to be. Kai lets out a shuddering breath, a sated smile threatening his lips. He releases Jo who falls to the ground, gasping against the pain, knife jutting out of her abdomen. Blood pools underneath her and betrayal swims in her pupils._

" _Pop quiz," he sing-songs, and Jo coughs blood on the floor, straining to breathe. "Do you remove the knife and bleed to death, or try to save the others with a piece of metal in your gut? Decisions, decisions. Clock's ticking, sissy."_

_Kai heads out of her room and closes the door._

_Latin words form on his tongue, the spell ready to materialize. He sets it free. The house becomes a temporary prison, and the ticking in his head starts again. Countdown to make them ready for his father to see. See what he's done. See what he made him do._

_Kai goes to Sarah and Claire, ten and eight. He finds the same naked fear that coated Jo's eyes in his little sisters' stares._

" _Mal?"_

_Sarah's voice trembles, brittle and fearful, as she steps in front of little Claire. "Why do you have blood on your hands?"_

_Kai only smiles and picks up the bright pink jump rope on the floor. He conjures another identical one and tunes out the little girls' screams as he proceeds to hang them off the stairwell railing. He fights off their little hands, smiling to himself. As if they could fend him off. He waits until they stop moving, feet grazing the wood, to pick the baseball bat he left under the stairs. He heads to the living room, where he finds Joey still playing, always playing, and munching on the last slice of pizza Kai specifically asked him not to touch._

_The coy smile that welcomes Kai quickly vanishes when Joey sees the look on his face and the blood staining the rainbow on his pink shirt. His little brother stands slowly, eyes darting between the bat and the blood, questions widening his baleful eyes and Kai thinks now's the time to teach Joey a lesson._

_Joey doesn't even move when he advances on him, seemingly too shocked to think his brother would harm him which makes Kai chuckle. He mentally thanks Joey for making his task easier as he swings the bat to his head and Joey falls to the floor, blood whipping on the wall. Joey doesn't have time to scream when Kai hits, and hits and hits him again, his skull opening in a loud crack, blood fast meddling with brains. The kid lays lifeless on the living room carpet, Dr. Mario still playing on the TV. Kai inhales a calming breath against the addictive adrenaline thudding in his heart. He puts his palm into the pool of red, soaking his skin with the rubbery liquid. He then paints the TV with Joey's blood, a small grin stretching his lips._

" _I'm the boss, that's who", he says to the broken body of his younger brother._

_When he catches 11-year-old Brian and drags him kicking and screaming to the pool, he's lost valuable time before his father's return and the last traces of Jo's magic keep taunting him. The kid keeps fighting him so hard, anger smothers out every other sound and Kai puts all his strength into forcing him under the water. He grits his teeth, kicking and pushing down against the squiggling body, and waits for the bubbles to stop rippling to the surface. When the last pop signals the end of young Brian, Kai exhales a sigh. The clock's still ticking. The little ones._

_His eyes fall on his hands stretched before him. The water has washed some of the blood away, but traces of dried red stay glued to his fingers. The happy music of Dr. Mario keeps playing in the background. He studies his hands and grins widely, as another wave of power, of control, different than magic, washes over him._

He watches the blood on his hands. The raging inferno he stands in the middle of bellows around him, burning trees falling to the ground. Blazing leaves dissolve like golden dust, a hurricane of fire devastating the clearing. Kai watches his hands, and a pressure crushes his lungs when he sees Joey, blood trickling from his busted temple, Sarah and Claire's little feet desperately hitting the wood of the stairs, Brian's knuckles turning white as he fights the brother trying to kill him. Jo. Jo staring at him in terror when he pushes the iron into her gut. He sees their eyes, full of fear but it's the shock that makes him want to wretch, the disbelief that colored their wide pupils.

Sounds are muffled, replaced by their screams, screams of  _"Kai, no!"_ , and he falls to his knees, grabs his hair, gritting his teeth as his head threatens to split in two.

_Now's not the time, now's not the fucking time_.

Malachai, free of his shackles, tears at his mind, ordering him to  _get up, get up right now_ ,  _let's finish this_  but his dead siblings' cries and pleas for help explode inside his skull like the thundering growl of a coming tornado. Expression hisses through the chaos raging through him. It seeps through his skin and crawls out of his body. Nature shudders in response, a warning, making the world pause and ready itself.

Something sharp stabs through him, crushing his bones, stretching a hole into his body. Pain chokes air out of him and he looks down to see a bloodied hand jut out of his shoulder. A heaving chest towers behind his bended back, a hand grips his other shoulder, rooting him to the earth. Gemini magic closes in on him.

"Time to go to prison, freak," the Gemini behind him snarls.

Joshua stands before him and Kai sees black lines crawl out of the back of his hands. They turn into creepers that slither on the ground, dark ivy worming its way through ashes of leaves toward his body. It is when they levitate in front of him, curiously poking at his face, that he realizes they are legs, spider legs, their fur swaying in the air, softly circling his throat. His heart pounds in his ribcage when they tighten around his neck and burn his skin.

His father's chants invade the clearing. The pieces of the ascendant Soe had broken fly up in the air, tugged up by Joshua's voice and, like magnets, click into one another, re-piecing it back into its intended form. The ascendant twirls violently in the wind, up, up toward the eclipse.

Malachai and dead siblings scream in Kai's head. Blood trickles down, pouring out of his ears.

The sliver of moonlight, trembling halo circling the eclipse, starts to fade. Only seconds before Sun and Moon break apart. Enough for another lifetime of isolation.

_No._

_Not again_.

Fear, ice cold and familiar, clears his mind.

Kai sighs, grateful, despite the arm pushing through his shoulder and the spider legs searing his throat, choking resolve out of him. His hand grabs the wrist trying to keep him in place, an offering to his Father. And he eats. His eyes lock with Joshua's as he devours the Gemini witch, ripping the magic out of the man standing behind him. Kai can feel Expression ripple over his skin; it skitters over him and clutches at the witch. The Gemini levitates in the air, the dark energy infects flesh and bones and chars the witch's body from the inside.

The wrist he had been grabbing melts and detaches itself from his shoulder; blood pours out turning thick in the hot air. Kai inhales the smell of charred bones and swallows the taste of stolen power. And yet, it only makes him feel weaker, a sense of loss weighing down on him. He grits his teeth, fighting against the sudden lightheadedness that took over his limbs, when he hears the hiss of Joshua's magic skittering over the ground toward him and feels the legs singing his neck tugging him forward. He closes his fist and pounds the ground with all his might.

The world ripples and aches and Joshua and the ascendant are projected into the air. The legs around his throat explode into black blood, staining his face and Kai urges dark veins to burn his shoulder wound shut. He staggers up, angry power pulsing at his fingertips, set to destroy everything. Malachai reclaims his mind, his fury is a roar that hammers into his ears and Kai's wild eyes roam the clearing, searching for his Father. They find Soe Yun, hands curled forward, another Gemini hovering over her, shackled in threads of wind. Soe's fingers twist the witch's body like a puppet master breaking her doll. The Gemini however wrests her arm off Soe's hold and slams her fists together. Soe's legs give out and both fall to the ground. Rage flares through him and Kai clenches his fingers, siphoning the air into his hand and shoots a blow cutting through blazing trees toward the Gemini. It explodes mid-course, wind breaking into shards of burning glass.

He turns to see Liv advance on him, eyes sizzling with hatred, palm thrust forward.

Kai swallows, stance wavering.

_Oh no no no don't. Don't fucking hesitate for this brat._

Liv suddenly slaps her hands together and two walls of wind slam against Kai, trapping him between them, closing onto him. He siphons out the magic crushing his ribcage, seconds before Liv roots out a burning tree and sends it flying towards him. The tree explodes into Kai's back sending him to his knees and red fury rushes to his fingertips. He buries his fingers into the ground, grabs the earth and  _pulls_ , like a carpet that moves under Liv's feet and makes her stumble down. Kai splays his palm on the burning soil and invisible hands grab at Liv's ankles and pull her toward him, dragging her kicking body in his direction. He's ready when she collides into him, her fingers curling into his shoulder, tearing the charred scarred tissue open again.

Kai grips her wrist and forcefully tears threads of Gemini power out of her. Liv screams, kicking into his chest, but it is a distant echo waved away by Malachai's cackle and the blood roaring though his veins. A smile twists his lips as power, delectable power, floods through him, filling the black void inside to the brim. He looks down to see Liv's eyes widen in fear.

_Ah life's so much easier with magic._

Panic paints her pupils fiery blue and suddenly Luke's dead eyes are staring back at him. Just a little more and he'll finish what Malachai started 18 years ago.

_You are a fucking murderer. That side will always be there inside you._

Something vicious grips his heart and Kai lets go, jolts away from his sister as if burned by her touch. Liv falls to the ground, weakened, coughing and panting, wild eyes filling with horror, and a disgust he's become well acquainted to, as they pierce through him. He shakes his head, trying to show her that no, that is not all he is, that he would have never, not now, not after Luke. But Liv only scoots back away from him, nursing the burn on her wrist where he had taken, brutal, her magic out of her. Disgust sharpens into cold hate and Kai can no longer hold Liv's gaze. She tenses when he raises a hand, her eyes narrow as a protective shield builds around her, burning leaves dissolving when touching it.

Kai staggers up again and sees Soe lying on the ground. He stretches the fabric of space and rushes to her as she slowly pulls herself up.

"You ok?" Kai grips her arms and helps her stand.

Soe hisses as she holds her fractured arm, pressing her fingers, slowly turning black, on the broken bones. She grits her teeth, seemingly in pain, as her bones click back together. "The bitch cloaked herself and ran. I forgot how you Gemini bastards love to fight dirty."

Kai smirks. "She must have run to my father." He turns, sensing the fire move north of the woods. "Come on"

He holds Soe in his arms and Nature groans, bending to his will, as his magic ports him and Soe towards the center of the roaring flames.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Bonnie wakes to scorched earth and burnt wood, the wind's howling pounding her ears. She shakes her head trying to make a sense of it all, only remembering Liv and Joshua Parker towering over Kai, a Gemini witch advancing on them before the shield blasted into pieces. The violent explosion sent her flying in the air, only to collide with the hard ground.

Bonnie winces against the throbbing pain shooting through her ribs and she wills herself to stand on rubbery legs, eyes searching for a familiar face.

The air shivers. A cold arm circles her waist and whooshes her away just when a burning tree falls where she stood. They come sliding to a halt. Bonnie turns wide eyes toward Caroline who looks equally shaken.

"Elena?" Bonnie asks and fear grips her when Caroline shakes her head.

They look around the burning woods, wind screeching in violent gusts. Bonnie stretches her magic, a net into an ocean of fire, while Caroline closes her eyes, focusing on her vampire hearing.

Cold fingers sigh against her skin. Bonnie turns to her left.

"This way."

She loops her arms around Caroline and they rush through the air, wind angrily scratching her cheek as Caroline vampire-speeds toward Elena.

A brutal blast hits them and they fall to the ground. Bonnie turns just in time to see a Gemini shoot burning stakes that cut through the blazing flames and fly toward them. She thrusts a palm forward, making them explode and rises to her feet, summoning Bennett power. She slams her hands flat into the air and the Gemini witch is flung back into the thundering fire.

"Bonnie!"

She swivels around and sees Caroline help Stefan stand, while Elena and Damon stagger to their feet. Bonnie rushes toward them, relief melting the laden fear weighing her heart down.

"Are you guys ok?" she asks.

"Fucking peachy," Damon snarls.

Fire whispers in her ear and Bonnie instinctively knits the wind into a tornado of burning leaves angrily swirling around all of them. It stretches to a fiery circle, forging into a shield when gusts of wind come flying toward them. The blasts crash against the shield and Bonnie's legs tremble, reverberations rippling through her bones.

The vampires fall down under the rattle of the ground that shakes and shudders beneath their feet. They huddle into one another kneeling behind Bonnie as she holds the circle of fire around them. She can see the Gemini gather wind into her hands and she braces herself against the coming blasts.

Bonnie flicks her wrist. Fiery whips detach from her shield. She flings her arm forward and the whips are sent skidding on the ground and they stab through the Gemini's legs. The witch screams, knees buckling and locks her angry eyes with Bonnie's determined ones. The Gemini catches the whips in her hands and tugs in one hard, brutal move. Bonnie stumbles forward and the fire shield is torn apart.

Fury roars in her veins, making her blood boil and Bonnie curls angry fingers that make the Gemini's legs twist and bend, the witch hitting the burning earth in a hard thud.

Damon takes this cue to whoosh toward the Gemini, dead hand ready to rip another heart. Bonnie's eyes widen when he stops midair, and is hurled up into the sky, his form disappearing into burning tall trees. The Gemini gets back up, wind lacing around her closed fists.

Fear and panic collide inside Bonnie when she sees Damon's body vanish into the fire. Elena screams his name and charges forward with Stefan and Caroline toward the Gemini. The vampires run in a triangular formation, closing in on the witch. Bonnie raises her arms and launches burning logs toward the witch who tugs up a wall of wind and rolls it around her just as Elena, Stefan, Caroline and the wooden bullets crash into it. Bonnie rushes forward and sends fiery spares to cut through the wall of knitted wind. Fire and air meet and explode like a bomb in the clearing, the blast propelling the Gemini witch backwards.

"Gather around me," Bonnie orders and the vampires follow suit, huddling behind her, their backs to hers.

"Cover me," Bonnie pants, and Stefan, Caroline and Elena surround her as her trembling hands fish through the inside pocket of her coat. Relief blooms when her hand finds the small velvety bag nestled into the nook of her coat. She retrieves it just as the Gemini reappears and another one uncloaks herself. Both witches raise thick walls of scorching air that advance on them. The vampires grab pieces of wood and hurl them toward the witches but they only dissolve in the burning air. The Geminis tread closer and closer and singing heat sears her skin.

"Bonnie, now!" Stefan yells.

Bonnie picks a square leaf, sets it ablaze and throws it into the sky. A transparent force field blasts into life, tearing through the thick walls. The wind shatters into white blades that fall like a shower of glass over the Gemini witches. The shield morphs into a globe and settles on the ground shrouding Bonnie and the vampires. A welcome temporary reprieve as Bonnie and her friends fall to their knees, willing air into their lungs.

"We have to find Damon!" Stefan shouts and Bonnie feels her heart clench, 1994 tainted memories flickering through her mind. She spreads her magic to ripple through the flames and beyond, searching, desperate, for the cold touch of Damon's aura. Her magic hiccups when the shield shudders and the ground shakes. Bonnie looks up to find those damned Gemini witches shooting fire bomb after fire bomb against the shield, only to sees the flames vanish into sparks of lightning every time they come in contact with the translucent surface.

The shield trembles and Bonnie can hear its magic hiss. The globe sinks into the ground, hot air seeping through rapidly forming cracks.

"Stay behind me," she orders. Her fingers dig into the burning earth, calling for the fire to nestle into her hands. Threads of Bennett power meld into the shield's surface, painstakingly erasing the cracks. Bonnie grits her teeth against the pain searing her bones as the potent, unnatural, magic holding the shield scratches against her own and almost overwhelms her.

Panic drums against her ribcage. She doesn't know how long she will be able to hold it firm under the attacks of the two Gemini. They need to be ready when the shield breaks.

A familiar cold touch brushes against her. Her heart suddenly stutters.

"Damon," she sighs in relief. He's okay.

Relief turns to hope as the tips of her magic shiver and sigh, welcoming the sharp edges of something akin to chaos hurtling towards them.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Molten heat sears their auras and they're about to come to a stop when something hard collides with them, brute force slicing the air that sends him and Soe crashing against the trunk of a burning tree.

Kai swivels in fury ready to set that thing on fire only to find Damon groan in pain. He looks up and fear roots him to the spot when he sees Bonnie and her vampire friends swathed into a rapidly deteriorating protective shield, as they try to fend off the attacks of two Gemini witches.

Kai sees red.

He stabs his left hand into the ground and Bonnie looks up locking wide eyes with his enraged ones. Ribbons of his magic root her body to the earth, trapping her limbs to the rumbling dirt. He lifts his other hand and tugs and drains from the pulsating, vibrating threads of the world surrounding him. He gathers it all at the center of his palm.

He pulls in one brutal move and everything stands still, Nature imprisoned in his hand, a hand that shakes under the strength of the power he feeds on. The world shudders with him and Nature roars, squiggles, struggles against his unwelcome grasp, trying to set itself free. Beads of sweat trickle down his nose, mingling with blood, and evaporate as they drop in the air. Kai grits his teeth, dark lines burning their way on his skin, rushing to his fingertips. His bones groan, shivering under the brute force quivering in his limbs.

Every whisper of life, the cold touch of death, sound and smells, feel and emotion, it all brushes against his heightened senses and aching pleasure drowns out his psyche. It reminds him of the moment Luke's magic bent and bowed in defeat and reluctantly rushed through him, of those times when Bonnie twisted under him, as he moved inside her, before her power melded with his.

_So this is what it feels like to be a God._

His lips painfully twist into a demented grin. He pushes air into his lungs, shuts his eyes, and revels just a little second more into the overwhelming ecstasy. Eyes closed, he sees the burning auras of every single soul in the clearing, silent black holes shivering near silver flames, vampire and witch essences sewn into the entwined fabric of the world. He urges his Gemini magic to circle each of them, all but one, two, and a faraway third.

He's ready to let go when a rush of familiar energy laps at his in fiery waves and Kai almost stumbles against the burn of its touch. He feels Bonnie's power rebel and smolder, crashing against his, desperately demanding to be set free. Kai eases his hold on it and it grows and morphs into golden strands that lace around the vibrating soundless blackholes.

Adrenaline shoots through him, his eyes squeezing shut. The friction of her power against his makes him shiver, echoing the times their magic blended together when creating his father's prison. Fear poisons his veins when the golden strings flicker, weakening. The world around him quivers and shakes.

_Now._

His palm opens, setting it free. A soundless explosion reverberates through the air, Nature stretches and expands, the ground twists in anger, and everything is flung back in a wide circle. Uprooted blazing trees are hurled back into the woods. Wind howls in fury, earth sinks and decays, a large hole erupts from the darkened soil.

Kai falls to his knees. Aftereffects of the spell, Nature's pay back, sear his limbs and make him bend into the ground. His lungs ache against the air burning its way inside him, and he breathes in and out, willing the pain to recede. Droplets of blood fall and dry inside the overturned earth. He wills himself to look up only to see Bonnie's wide eyes take in what he just did. The groaning bodies of vampires she's just saved, tethered to the threads of her magic, slowly move back to life as her power relinquishes its hold on them. Soe grunts and hisses when she pulls herself onto her knees.

"A heads up would have been nice," she all but snaps at him.

Kai smirks but pays her no mind. His eyes stay glued to Bonnie. At long last she meets his stare, wonder painting her wide eyes a vivid green. He raises his brows and she nods, disbelief tugging the corner of her lips into a small smile. She's okay.

Relief sparks through him but disappears just as fast when Bonnie's features fall, her eyes trailing behind him.

"Kai, look out!"

Spiky spider legs stab through his abdomen and calf and Kai falls to the ground before being dragged backwards by his Father's magic.

Singing earth burns him and he claws his hands into the ground, stopping his body from skidding backwards. He screams in pain as the spider legs dig further into his belly and muscle, tearing at the skin, furiously pulling him toward them.

A booming sound blasts over him. The tension suddenly recedes and black blood rains down on his cheek. Kai looks up to see Soe hovering over him, gripping his arms to make him stand. His eyes then find Bonnie, her palm is thrust in his direction and he pulls Soe down with him, covering her body with his when fiery arrows cut through the air, flying over them, and go crashing against Joshua's black shield.

He freezes in panic as Joshua sends a thick blast of wind toward Bonnie. The wind turns concrete and violently hits Bonnie who crashes against a nearby tree. His heart stops when he sees Elena and the blonde vampire rush toward her, taking Bonnie's unresponsive petite body in their arms.

Long forgotten madness takes hold of him then.

Kai rises to his feet and flings his palms toward the sky. The blazing fire becomes a wall of molten lava, devouring everything in its wrath and stretches and widens to run the length of the clearing, parting it in two. He feels the rumble of earth beneath his feet. He channels it, calls on its anger and makes it trap Joshua and the two Gemini witches in its grip, making them sink into the ground.

"Soe!" he yells

"Already on it!"

Soe waves her arms round and round in the air, and the wind becomes another wall of concrete pushing against Kai's blazing one. And both start to move. Soe bends the wind and makes the wall of flames curl around Joshua and the Gemini witches, the flames surrounding them in a closing fist.

Kai's gaze is lured toward the vampires gathered around Bonnie. He sees drops of their blood coating her lips red. He feels the sweet burn of her magic awaken and brush against the nape of his neck and his heart clenches, knees almost giving out in relief. His eyes meet Damon's then. Pure, unadulterated hate fills him to the brim.

"Get her the fuck out of here!" he bellows, fury and fear pounding in his head, squeezing the air out of his lungs, and it reverberates through the clearing, the air shuddering against the force of his words.

Damon doesn't need to be told twice. He turns to the Blonde vampire who sweeps Bonnie in her arms and vampire speeds out of the clearing, Damon, Stefan and Elena in tow.

His hands shake, the pillar of fire expanding up, up toward a dusty sky.

"Soe, get down!"

Soe does, kneeling behind him, a black shield knitting itself around her. Kai splays his hands wide, letting go. The vertical blazing tunnel explodes up, funneling all the fire in the clearing inside it into a bomb that erupts in a wide, violent blast into the sky. A shower of burning leaves and fire dust rains over them, sky temporarily glowing red before Nature takes back its hold on it and paints it dark again.

Silence drapes over the woods, moon the only source of light.

Kai falls to his knees, panting, hands still trembling. His eyes roam the clearing, searching for the charred bones of his Father and his Gemini followers. The dust clears, and he leans forward, wild eyes trying to make out the form of dead bodies, flared nostrils hoping to inhale the smell of ruptured magic.

It hits him then. He didn't feel any loss. Not like the Gemini he bled dry earlier.

He senses something move to his left as Soe stands and towers over him. They both look as Liv's silhouette etches into the curtain of copper dust swaying in the faint breeze. She walks with difficulty towards him, only stopping a foot away from him on his knees and Soe standing behind him.

"They escaped," Liv states, hard eyes meeting Kai's. "And he's got Jo"

The bastards are still alive. His Fatheris still alive.

Malachai's rage grows and boils and burns. His fury explodes into a roar and Kai lets it out, his scream echoing throughout the woods. The trees shudder, recoiling, fearful witness to the fit of temporary madness.

Jo's features leach the anger out of him, replacing it with fear that tightens his belly, his spine straightening under the ramrod of its yoke. His twin sister stays etched to the walls of his mind, pulling the seams of his psyche taught, as he heads back to his makeshift home, Soe and Liv following him.

The house quivers when they step in; the erratic auras of the three witches pulsate and thrum in the air, their magic still wild and out control from over exertion.

Kai makes a bee line to the kitchen, and slumps on a chair; Soe claims the one across from him and tends to her wounds, while Liv leans against the wall, near the doorframe, muscles locked in a subtle defensive stance, ready to attack if needed. Silence stretches over them, the pregnant pause weighing heavy in the stillness. His mind is a whirlwind of questions, memories and faces, stitched together with threads of fear, anger, tinged with betrayal. Helplessness digs itself out of the grave he had buried it in long ago, infecting his heart, the poison spreading through.

_Think, Kai. Think._

His Father is here. Earlier than expected. But he only brought his own Pretorian guard, as Kai liked to call them. Which is surprising. The Gemini Quorum had made it crystal clear that Kai back in his prison world is their preferred solution to the Parker succession tug of war. With him back in his cell, no more need for merge. His coven would have unlimited power, not bound to any constraint of Nature or Time. Kai has to give it to them. It is the perfect scenario. And what better than to have a siphoner freak,  _the aberration_  as they called him, as vessel to ensure their endless survival.

Something dark growls inside him but Kai squashes it away. He needs to think. They all want him gone and yet, his Father had only the minimum of back up with him, as though the Gemini families opted to play wait and see. Or maybe his Father needs to show he can handle his monstrosity of a son this time around.

And he almost did, if it wasn't for Soe and Kai's forethought. His Father set the trap perfectly, lulling Kai into thinking he had the upperhand, staying away from Jo's wedding. Using Bonnie as bait.

Bonnie. She must have known.

_Of course she did._

Kai clenches his teeth against the taste of betrayal coating his tongue, bile rising in his throat. The dull throb inside his ribcage is made even more painful when he figures he's the one that let his guard down. She never promised any loyalty to him, nor anything more than they agreed on. She never promised anything. She just took. Like he did. Like he taught her how to, in that never ending May, using her as unwilling target practice. She did learn. When it came to him, she learnt fast. Every hurt was given back tenfold. Her long con is the kind that would have made Malachai proud.

_Oh but I am. And I want retribution._

Retribution. If there's one thing Kai is well acquainted with, it is the long coming satisfaction of giving as good as he got. And if it comes with saving his twin sister, then all the better.

Jo.

Kai swallows painfully, fear squeezing and squeezing lungs that cry for air. Logic eases fear's grip on his heart, reminding him that his Father won't hurt her. Not now that she is his ticket to ensure the continuity of his hold on the coven. He won't hurt her. But he will use her to destroy him. Perhaps taking the coven with him as long as it meant that the monster that came out of his blood did not reduce to ashes the legacy Joshua Parker has spent his lifetime building.

Kai's lips twist in a cruel smile. Then he will gladly be the King of Ashes.

But before that he needs a plan, and with that, information. Kai turns blank eyes toward the unusually silent Gemini sister standing as far away from him as possible. As if on cue, Liv looks up and locks narrowed eyes with his. Kai sees Luke again and smothers the rising whispers of dead siblings that have taken permanent residence in the back of his mind, a background noise that sometimes drowns out even Malachai.

"Want to tell me why you jumped ship, Livvie Poo?" Kai offers a wan smirk that doesn't reach his eyes when waves of simmering rage radiate from his baby sister. Soe looks between them and rolls her eyes, moving towards the opposite corner, removing herself out of Liv's firing line. She hops on the far end of the counter, waiting for the face off.

"If the ship you're talking about is leaving you to rot in a prison world? Where you belong? Then no. I haven't jumped ship." Liv offers a simpering smile, eyebrow raised and Kai's smirk loses its bite, morphing into a thin line. "But Dad has Jo. And I will do everything to get her back. Even working with the monster who butchered my family."

The words are gunshots and tense silence fills the air, urging the tremors left in their wake to fizzle out. Soe lets out a slow whistle, visibly impressed by Liv. She turns to Kai, offering a nod of approval, "Well, the kid is pragmatic. And ballsy. Gotta give her that"

Kai inhales a sharp breath, not answering Soe's taunt. Liv's words are bullets he is tired of dodging, just like it gets harder and harder to ride the wave of pain and guilt and memories and screams, exhumed every time he is made to remember that fateful night. But the worst is when realization crashes in at the end of the wave, reminder that all of this, the hurt, the blood, the hate, is of his own making. That nothing will ever justify what he did to his siblings. His own blood.

It doesn't however prevent him from training unimpressed eyes on Liv.

"Oh really?" Kai snickers, replacing guilt with much more useful venom. "Since when do you care so much about Jo? It wasn't so long you were more than ready to let her die so I would let you and Luke live."

Liv only replies with a glare, arms folded, his words seemingly striking a chord that she didn't want to hear.

"Fine." Kai straightens on the chair, borrowing the posture of calm as he settles his hands over the table, hard eyes cast toward Liv. "So, you won't mind answering a couple of questions. For dear Jo."

Liv meets his stare head on. "Shoot."

"Have you been working all this time with Da- with Joshua? To get me back into prison?"

Liv nods. "Pretty much, yes."

Kai barks out a disbelieving laugh at her curt answer but does not engage in her taunting. "Ok, so what was the plan? And please don't leave any details."

Liv's eyes sharpen then. "Dad called me three days after you killed Luke."

"You mean when we merged."

"Same thing."

"No, not really."

"He died because of you"

"He died because he decided to play hero and merge with me. To save Jo. To save  _you_ ," Kai retorts, cutting. "But hey if thinking I killed Luke helps you sleep better at night, have it your way. It's not like your opinion matters or is at the top of my list. Actually I think you're at the bottom with those pesky vampires."

Liv's about to spit out a chafing reply but she meets the warning in Kai's eyes. She bites back her anger and exhales, visibly trying to keep her temper under control. Kai waits for her to school her features and gestures for her to continue.

She does. "He called me but I wasn't in any mood to listen. He'd just tried to force the merge on Luke and me. You know, just before you came and finished the job."

Kai inhales a deep breath, clenching a hand into a fist. Liv is playing with his nerves and he's starting to wonder if it's intentional. In any case, he needs answers and antagonizing Liv is not going to supply the information he needs to reassess what the hell is going on. If it means listening to her putting the blame on him for Luke's death then so be it. It wouldn't be the first time anyway.

"I think he got it, Liv." Soe deadpans. "He ate your brother, they merged and you hate him for it. Got it. Can we move on and get to the point?"

Soe misses Liv's glare when she heads to the fridge and gets herself a beer, oblivious to the sharpening of Liv's aura that turns cold. She plops back up on the counter, and waits for Liv to resume her tale.

Liv huffs an annoyed breath, turning cool eyes toward a silent Kai. "Then I tried to kill you."

"You tried to kill all of us," Kai spits back.

Her features harden, an angel of death assessing her next victim. "But I missed. And I couldn't kill you anymore because you were the new coven leader. The Quorum was furious enough when I tried the first time."

That he can imagine. Another Parker almost destroying the Gemini.

"That must have been a real bummer," he snorts, humorless, eyes intent on Liv, fingers tapping an erratic beat on the table.

"You have no idea." Liv snaps back. She tilts her head, meeting his stare. "And then Dad called me back, apologized for forcing Luke and me to merge. Said that it was a lapse in judgment. Because he feared what would happen if you got what you wanted."

"Did you believe him?" Kai asks

"Of course not," Liv scoffs. Kai watches as bravado seeps out of her, sadness waving it away, clouding her blue eyes, coloring them grey. She looks so young now, her age. He sees Liv, his baby sister, wild crown of golden curls and fierce blue eyes, instead of Olivia Parker, former potential heir to the Geminis.

"I love Dad. Well, I loved Dad. After what you did to the others, he took care of us, me and Luke. Like we were the only family he had left. He taught us, protected us,  _loved us_. He was kind, he was patient. He made us proud to be Geminis. He made sure we were the best among the very best, made sure we were ready to carry our traditions and keep our position after he left. He promised he would never hurt us." Liv's voice catches and she exhales a slow breath, her hands balling into fists by her sides. "So imagine how it felt when he grabbed our hands and forced one of us to kill the other."

Kai smothers the flash of resentment, twined with longing, sparking in his chest at Liv's words, as she described the childhood he was not deemed worthy enough to be given to. It ebbs away when he feels Liv's aura fill the room, scratching, more forceful, on his and Soe's, testament of the rage boiling inside her.

"So, no. I didn't believe him." Liv snarls.

He nods, gently prodding her magic, pushing it away. Liv folds her arms, leaning back against the wall and the tension eases. "He said the coven would not survive with you as our leader. But since you won, that trapping you would ensure long term continuity. And no more merge."

Kai offers a caricature of a smile, remembering the words of the Quorum, the thinly veiled scorn coating them as he faced the heads of the families as their new leader and asked for them to stay put while he took care of the matter that was Joshua Parker.

"Did you contact Damon then?" Kai asks, reluctantly heading toward the path littered with memories of fiery power, green eyes, soft skin, and that ended in a bottomless pit of hurt.

"No, not at first," Liv replies, studying him. "Damon called me when Bonnie came back."

Liv pauses, watching him and Kai almost clenches his fists but instead lays his hands flat on the table's surface. "Apparently they needed you to get Damon's mother out. And Bonnie told them you were using her to build a prison for Dad. It was the perfect opportunity."

"So Bonnie played bait," the words burn his tongue as he lets them out.

Liv smirks, eyes shimmering, leaning forward like a shark that smelled blood. "Yes she did." she says and Kai can hear the cold smile she hides in the lilt of her voice. "She did it willingly. Must have wanted you to pay for what you did to her."

He balls his hands into fists then, so tight, knuckles ache and his nails bite at his palm. He can feel Soe's keen gaze burning his temple and he reminds himself to breathe.

_I fucking told you so. But do you listen? Nope, never listen to Malachai._

Kai offers a wide, wolfish smile, belying the cold ire burning behind his eyes. "Perfect opportunity indeed. Especially with that fucked up magic your precious Daddy is playing with."

"Yeah, well, we needed this kind of fucked up to fight your kind of fucked up," Liv spits back, not missing a beat.

"Easy, Liv," Soe warns, her voice serious as the walls shudder at Kai and Liv's auras sharpening, ready to attack each other.

Kai exhales sharply, glaring at Liv. "So what about Jo? How could you not know Joshua would take her?"

Malachai smiles, and Kai does too, perverse satisfaction humming inside when Liv wilts at his question, shoulders slumping. "No I didn't. I thought he didn't know she was expecting twins."

"What happened after the wedding?" Kai asks.

He watches, suspicion narrowing his eyes when Liv seems to mull over her words before turning cool pupils toward him.

"After you went all apeshit on everyone at the wedding, I drove Jo back to a safehouse." Liv doesn't flinch at Kai's wide eyes that turn blank, as dishes and utensils starts to stutter and clatter against the walls. "So she could be safe while we got you back into your cell."

Kai's heart drops and his lungs ache for air.

"Jo knew?"

Liv's wide smile is akin to a blade running through his heart. She giggles softly, and it ripens into a full blown laugh that makes her curls sway, brushing the thickening air.

"Jo was in on the plan since the beginning." Liv chuckles at Kai's silence. She pushes herself off the wall and goes to sit on the chair right across from him. She leans forward, eyes full of mirth locking with his grey ones.

"I'll let you in on a secret. The real plan was to have Dad trap you and then we would get rid of him."

Kai fights the weight pushing his heart in his throat and barks out a sharp laugh, his grin having less bite than intended. "And how would you have done that, with his Pretorian guard watching his every paranoid move? You're good Livvie Poo, but you're not that good."

His Father's special bodyguards were the ones chosen by the Coven Leader for protection. They changed after each Merge, the new leader picking them among his peers or family, or the witches he or she trained and grew up with, those that the leader trusted with his life. Pretty much the reason Kai has no Pretorian Guard. He was never meant to.

Liv smirks, clasping her hands together on the table. "Who do you think is the head of his Pretorian guard?"

Kai snorts, but it's weak, just enough not to allow his features to falter. Liv's words are a sucker punch to the gut, but they do provide pieces of the puzzle, one whose center piece more and more resembles Jo.

"Look, I know you had a deal with Jo," Liv continues, seemingly savoring his turmoil. "And it was a good one if you were not a freak. But you're one, and she had no way of knowing how long you would respect it,  _if_ you would respect it. Maybe in the end you would have eaten Luke's good traits and gone back to being the monster you've always been. Who the fuck knows? We've never had to deal with a siphoner winning a merge. You might be a ticking time bomb. So we did what Geminis do. We took care of a contingency."

"A contingency?" Kai chuckles then, bitter and hollow. "Wow, you did so well that your plan backfired a thousand times over in your faces".

Kai laughs or else he will reduce the house and everyone in it to red dust and charred bones. His rages boils, growing hotter when he sees Liv shrug, eyes still steady on him, cool and dissecting.

"Not really," she counters, "Not yet anyway. That's why I'm here." Her eyes sharpen.

Kai tilts his head, raising a brow. Malachai stops pacing and listens, intent. Soe leans forward, waiting.

"Jo knew that there was the possibility one of you would go after her. You or Dad. So if Dad went after her, I had to go to you to get you to help save her. And vice versa if you were the one who did the hurting"

Kai sneers, shaking his head, although Malachai stays silent, processing Liv's words. "And why would I do that?"

"Because, one, believe it or not, Jo actually believed you'd changed." Liv's throws her hands in mock disbelief. "Don't ask me why. She really thought you changed. She just didn't know how long it would last. And didn't feel like betting the lives of her children on that. And, two, my theory. I think you're the same monster than before, you just hide it better. But even as that monster, would you prefer leaving Jo with Dad and the insurance of healthy heirs to ally with the coven who despises you. Or would you prefer to have her and her twins by your side to help sway the Quorum, since her babies won't be siphoners?"

This time his smile is genuine. It doesn't alleviate the pain, throbbing, more and more insistent. But it helps absorb the blow, its edges softened by a quaint sense of pride. Pride at Jo's forethought, at his sister showing that she too could play this game.

His smile stretches, when Soe chuckles, the sound adding lightness to the air filling the kitchen. "Well, well, well, you've grown into a ruthless little Gemini, little O."

Liv smirks at Soe's words, eyes never leaving Kai's. "Of course I did. I had to. Especially after a psycho massacred my family, traumatized me for life and killed the person I loved the most. The one brother I was willing to die for." Liv replies, tone dangerously soft, belying the angry fire painting her eyes fiery blue.

"Oh please," Kai scoffs. "You did everything not to merge with Luke.  _He_  was the one ready to sacrifice himself for you."

Liv's smirk dissolves.

"True," she acquiesces and something in her voice, quiet acceptance, makes Kai brace himself from her next words. "Luke was the best of us. How fucking sad is it that he had to lose to you. The worst thing that happened to our family."

Kai smiles, despondent this time, and can only nod at how fucked up fate can be. Guilt battles need for revenge, anger at being betrayed, and it wins once again, shackling Malachai in binds so tight, they make him cry in fury. That part of him rebels however and its sweet poisonous whispers eagerly remind Kai that he can feel guilty all he wants but Jo and Liv and Bonnie had no qualms using that annoying guilt to get him back into his cell, for another eternity of isolation.

_You need to show them what it costs to fucking play us._

Kai breathes out a tired sigh.

That merge is like a virus, infecting and corrupting everything that made him Malachai. He's like a code rewritten with embedded faults, with glitches that are fast turning grating. So much so he sometimes wonders if it was all worth it. Although the guilt stays, forever stitched into his skin, he's relieved to find that the doubts never last long. Not when the power swirling through him answers and reassures him that yes, all this magic, all those times he felt godliness at his fingertips, all of this is well worth it, that no price, however bloody, can afford it.

Kai swallows his frustration, brushing aside tumultuous thoughts, and holds his sister's gaze, appraising her as she leans back against the chair, arms crossed, waiting.

"So, oh dear Coven Leader. What's it gonna be?" Liv asks, a touch mocking.

Malachai snorts, Kai echoes it.

"You already know what it's gonna be," he sneers, cracking his neck, willing the tightness in his back to loosen, to allow him to regroup in peace. Kai stands abruptly, stretching his limbs, and smirks at the dark look Liv sends toward him. "I don't know about you but I need to be clean and fed before a battle plan."

Soe chuckles, nodding "This is the first sane thing you've said all day."

Kai shrugs before sobering, features hard. "And we need to tie a few loose ends before facing Daddy dearest."

Liv nods and stands, heading toward the living room, not sparing him any glance. Her words repeat on a loop in his head, conjuring memories of Jo and Bonnie, making him leaf through them, scanning them, trying to pick the tell-tale signs of their mistrust and betrayal. And the pulsing ache still drums against his breastbone, sending a painful echo rippling in his bones, along the walls of his mind.

_So this is what it feels like to be a mere mortal._

Kai hears Soe jump off the counter and sidle near him. She pats his shoulder in an awkward gesture, seemingly not used to any display of anything remotely close to human affection. It would make Kai laugh if his heart didn't make it so hard to breathe.

He turns to find Soe smirking at him. "Look on the bright side, Mal. They all might hate you and want to get rid of you, but they still have to keep you alive."

Kai snorts, shaking his head.

"And please go take a shower, you look like shit," Soe says, heading out, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Kai's lips lean into a wan, despondent smile. Yes, and he also felt like shit.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Black. Touches of grey. Clouds of yellow, blue, green. Translucent and frail. Red drowns into black again. Echoes whisper and sigh. They brush against her temple, turn into insistent sounds, that, soft, poke her mind awake, dredging her from slumber's hold.

Bonnie slowly opens her eyes. She blinks against the blurry white high ceiling. Familiarity seeps through her skin when her sight adjusts and takes in the hard wood floors, the open bathroom, the old elegance coating the walls and the soft, outrageously large bed cradling her tired limbs.

_Damon's room_ , her mind whispers.

For one brief instant, she doesn't hear anything. Fear chokes her heart in an iron grip, paralyzing. The cruel silence of an abandoned world, tangled with the shadow of an eclipse, invades her thoughts and Bonnie has to remind herself to breathe. The night is quiet, soft breeze tickling the windows' curtains, ant it belies the hullabaloo of her mind when memories flicker through. Blazing fire, leaves dissolving into red dust, Gemini witches attacking. The earth burning, angry, underneath her fingertips.

Bonnie sits up, vision swimming, and prods her magic, checking on it. Her power crawls out of apathy and rushes up to answer her call, intact, swathing her frail body, protective and whole. Relief washes over her but its sweet balm does not last long when the features of Kai etch into her mind, when the shadowy silhouette of Joshua Parker parts a raging inferno in two and looms over him. Her chest tightens, aching, and Bonnie waits for her heart to steady itself.  _He must be okay. If anyone can survive this it's him_ , she reassures herself, refusing to pay heed to the treacherous murmurs whirling in her mind, spinning the tale of Kai's demise. She closes her eyes shut, willing away flashes of Kai crawling on the searing earth away from his father, the last she saw of him before her mind went blank.

"Bonnie?"

She looks up to see Caroline and Elena hover at the door. She offers a faint smile and both rush to her side, engulfing her in a tight embrace that she fiercely returns. She needs an anchor to the world, anything to cast away her death tainted thoughts.

"God, we were so worried," Caroline breathes out, tickling Bonnie's skin and Elena rubs Bonnie's back, as if to remind herself, that yes, Bonnie's still here and she's fine.

"I'm glad you guys are ok," Bonnie croaks out. She revels in the cold warmth of her friends. She clings to that fleeting sense of peace that exhumes the old, lost feeling of that time when it was only the three of them, the trio that grew up together and did not envision life without one another, oblivious to the supernatural crawling and watching behind their back. Wistfulness burns her heart and Bonnie exhales a slow breath.

They let go and reality crashes back in when Damon, glass of honey colored liquid in hand, Stefan and Alaric enter the room, relieved smiles adorning their features.

"Good to see you in one piece, Bon Bon," Damon says, a genuine rueful grin curving his lips.

His eyes rove her body, seemingly checking for any lingering injury, before he raises his glass of Bourbon toward her and sips from it, invitation to engage in their usual banter. His smile however dims when Bonnie doesn't return it. The presence of Damon, Stefan and Alaric reminds her of their failed mission to rescue the Salvatore matriarch. Reminds her of Kai's faltering features when his father told him he had Jo. But more than that, it unearths the chafing sting of betrayal that seared her when Damon revealed himself as Joshua Parker's ally.

Bonnie turns toward her childhood friends, not without noticing the slight crease in Damon's brows and the tensing of Stefan's posture.

"Tell me what happened after." She locks eyes with Caroline. Elena's hand, rubbing her back, stills and removes itself from her body. Thick, loaded silence crowds the space between her and the vampires. It stretches into a rapidly growing void.

Caroline glances at Elena, who nods, and gathers Bonnie's hands in her cold ones. She's about to answer when Damon beats her to it.

"Not much," Damon says, seemingly not registering Caroline's glare in his direction. "When Papa Parker hit you with his attack, you were unconscious and we got you out of there, since it was pretty much Witch-mageddon."

" _Kai_  told you to get her out of there, while  _he and his friend_  took care of his father and the other witches," Caroline pointedly corrects, voice turned cold with venom.

"Tomato, tomato."

"No," Caroline sneers. "Lies versus truth, although it makes no difference to you."

"Why don't you go be a good Barbie and keep your mouth shut?" Damon snarls.

Caroline jumps to her feet, hands balled into fists, facing him with seething rage.

"Why don't you go stake yourself, you backstabbing D-bag."

"Damon," Stefan warns and goes to stand between Caroline and Damon, trying to ease the tension pulled taut, almost tangible and ready to snap. Caroline watches him for a long time but stays silent. Bonnie sees Elena stand and she does the same, staring at Stefan.

"So you left and Kai kept fighting the Geminis." Bonnie tries to steer the conversation back to the point, to her point, needing to know. "Do you know if he's okay or not?"

She doesn't care if her voice sounds too eager and too bright, doesn't even pay heed to the eyes boring into her.

"I'm sure your precious little psycho's fine," Damon retorts, snide, features hard. "And we, your friends, are okay too. Not that you asked."

Anger smolders inside Bonnie. She grinds her teeth but pays him no mind. Not yet. "And Jo?" she asks, gaze falling on Alaric's slumping shoulders.

"Apparently, Joshua Parker has her. We don't know where she is," Elena replies in a sigh, raking frustrated hands in her long hair.

"Liv?" Bonnie turns to Elena who offers a helpless shrug.

"M.I.A."

Bonnie nods, worry churning her belly.  _It's not your fault, this is Gemini business_ , Logic whispers in her ears.  _Look after your own first_ , Reason insists and it has Grams' stern voice. But Bonnie is forever ensnared in the soft, unyielding claws of duty and righteousness. As much as she resents them, they are part of the fabric of her very bones, something she is as sure of as earth revolving around the sun, as nature breathing life into her magic, as the potency of her Bennett ancestry. Witches must help one another. And apparently, so do the Bennetts and Geminis, trapped in a vicious cycle of tit for tat. Jo is pretty much the reason they're all still alive if it wasn't for Astrid's shield. She can't let her fend for herself at the hands of her father. Not after what Kai told her about him.

"We need to find Jo. At least make sure she is alright," Alaric's desperate words echo Bonnie's thoughts and she locks sympathetic eyes with his. It is not only the woman he still loves, despite everything, whom he worries about. It is also the future, perhaps hopeful, she's bearing.

"After what happened tonight, I doubt it's gonna be as easy as you want it, Ric."

It is then that Bonnie lets herself listen to the quiet rage burning inside, sharpening her magic that settles just under her skin, hissing, ready to attack.

"And whose fault is that?" Bonnie lands fiery eyes on Damon. He seems to sense her anger, eyebrows raised, blue pupils turning ice cold, as though he too was repressing his own furor.

He snorts, shaking his head. "Alrighty then, here we go."

Bonnie advances on him, hands clenched, only to stop as Stefan steps forward, an effective barrier between her and her prison world companion.

"You lied to me. Again." Bonnie snaps. Against Damon's lack of reply, she barks out a despondent laugh. "You went and got yourself a deal with Joshua Parker being my back. When I was willing, against reason, to help get your mother out. For you!"

_For what we shared together, those four months, there, where we were each other's only hope_. Sudden burning liquid pools in her eyes, chafing, and she summons the strength of her will to not let it fall. She bites back on her words, swallowing yet more resentment, yet more disappointment, yet another proof that Damon, despite the friendship she hoped against hope he holds for her, will forever see her as the witch in his back pocket, the friend who has to stand by his side no matter the consequences. No matter the damage she has to endure.

Heavy silence fills the room. Bonnie heaves a sharp exhale, willing away treacherous tears she has no use for.

Damon snorts, and Bonnie looks up to meet features turned serious as he waggles an accusing finger toward her.

"Oh no no no. Don't put that one on me," he counters, his turn to step forward, approaching Stefan who stands as referee between them. "You're the one who said that you were done. Remember? So whatever plan we had besides rescuing my mother didn't concern you,  _Bon Bon._ "

His reply knocks the wind out of Bonnie, cutting at her already tattered pride, her eyes widening at his words.

"We actually respected your wish," Damon barks, almost like a wounded dog, and takes another swig of bourbon.

"Stop saying  _we_. It was you and Stefan. As always," Caroline cuts icily, moving to stand beside Bonnie, hard eyes boring into Stefan.

Stefan lets out a weary sigh but it is when Elena speaks that guilt flashes across his deceptively youthful face.

"Caroline's right," Elena says, and everyone turns to her. Her gaze is unfamiliar, disheartened and jaded, and it makes both Salvatore brothers wince under its silent disapproval. "You should have told us, since the beginning. You should have told Bonnie."

"So what? So she could run and rat us all out to her psycho who ruined Ric's wedding and hurt  _you_ , Elena?" Damon almost explodes in angry disbelief. "Come on people, I was thinking about the greater good here. Two birds with one stone. We get my mother out and get rid of this Gemini evil spawn once and for all. We did what needed to be done to protect  _you, all of us_. Bon Bon's the one who chose that psycho over us. Not the other way around."

"I didn't choose Kai over you." Bonnie lets out through gritted teeth, magic rustling and groaning underneath her skin. Expression hums, content, eagerly feeding on her wrath, and its slight burn warms her, her hold on it loosening.

"The only person I chose was myself. For the first time, I was protecting myself from your fucked up plans!" and now she shouts, hands shaking with her rage.

"But no, you had to punish me because, oh my god, Bonnie is not a doormat anymore! Bonnie makes her own decisions that have nothing to do with you! Because I am not Stefan or Elena, or even Alaric, so you don't care –," and she has to stop herself, as it gets harder and harder to breathe. Bonnie swallows painfully, the truth she reluctantly unwraps forcing its way out of her, like she's being exorcized of demons she had been too well acquainted to.

She swallows harsher words, softer words, intimate words, words heavy with hurt, laced in an almost confession, and lays watery eyes on a silent Damon. "You only care when it serves your interests. What I want, what I think doesn't count."

Renewed anger smothers the hurt and straightens her back. Bonnie inhales a long breath, eyes slowly drying with the touch of long held, quiet resentment.

"Well, congrats then," she sneers, "You've just made an enemy of the Gemini leader. You know, the one who can kill everyone here in a snap of fingers. Because you were too busy being a stupid selfish ass!"

Expression smiles and sets itself free. The glass in Damon's hand shatters, making everyone jump in surprise. The rest of Bourbon turns into golden flames lapping at the vampire's skin. Damon cries out in pain before charging toward her, fury painting his eyes dark red.

He slams against Stefan's body, who grabs his collar and stops him from moving further while Elena and Caroline speed in front of Bonnie.

"Damon, enough!" Elena orders, tone brooking no argument. Her words seem to knock sense into Damon. The dark lines around his eyes vanish, blue erasing the red of his pupils. He stares long and hard at Bonnie, before glancing at Elena. He cannot hold her gaze however and brutally pushes Stefan off of him, before storming out of the room, Alaric in tow.

Stefan heaves a tired sigh. He rakes a hand in his hair and turns toward Elena and Caroline.

"How about everyone sleep on it and we regroup tomorrow after we've all calmed down?" He rubs the bridge of his nose, meeting Bonnie's still furious eyes. "You can take the spare room if you want."

"I'm not staying a single minute in this house," Bonnie growls.

"You have every right to be angry, and I'm sorry we didn't tell you," Stefan's wan smile is pained and apologetic, his eyes pleading. "But we don't know what's out there, and we need to stay together. At least so we figure this out. So we can help defend each other. It's safer if we stay together in the same place."

His stare lands on Elena, a silent plea as offering.

"At least for the night, Bon" Elena urges. Caroline stays silent, only taking Bonnie's hand in hers.

Bonnie relents and nods. "Fine. But only for tonight."

"I'll stay with her," Caroline says, hard eyes meeting Stefan's.

"We'll both stay with her" Elena corrects. She twines Bonnie's other hand with hers and faces the Salvatore vampire.

"And I'll check on Damon before he does anything stupid again." Stefan is met by tense, dismissive, silence. He nods and leaves them alone, in search of his brother.

"Come on, let's get you at least something to eat." Elena tugs Bonnie's hand, a tired smile curving her lips. Bonnie answers with one of her own and follows Elena and Caroline out of Damon's room.

They dine in deceptive quiet in the Salvatore kitchen, whispers of prison world banter and Damon's words earlier collide together, immovable memory against irresistible forceful hurt, and replay in Bonnie's mind. Her heart aches and aches until she wills it to harden every time Damon's face flashes in her psyche. She locks her memories with him in 1994, where she allowed herself to put her faith in him, in a box and buries it under layers and layers of resentful anger.

Damn him for making her feel so small.

Damn him for using the affection she had chosen to gift him, back when he was the only thing she had, just to make sure she stays their loyal witch pet.

Damn him for worming his way into her heart, and poisoning it with insecurity and bitterness, when she was at her most vulnerable.

But most of all damn him for making it seem ok to sink so low, to become unrecognizable even to herself. A Bennett witch reduced to a vampires' tool. Vampires who've taken everything from her, everything from her friends and still demanded more, never satiated, perennial hunger, their curse, ravenously plundering over every bit of life until there is nothing left, only broken spirits and bloodied memories.

Bonnie was tired of feeling so helpless, of being so powerful but letting herself be so weak.

Letting herself.

There lied the catch. It was her fault all along and she's known all along. So scared of being alone that she clings, desperate, to the normal she has. As damaging as that normal is. Better the Devil you know, they said. And true Devils they were.

But no more, she tells herself, as magic flows free and unbound in her veins, all hers, only hers. It soothes her, fills her with hard won certainty. They will rescue Jo and then no more Devils for her.

Her eyes land on Caroline and Elena, life forcefully ripped out of them, wandering ghosts of their former vibrant selves. And if Bonnie has any say in the matter, no more Devils for them both.

Bonnie doesn't even spare Stefan a glance when he comes back with a chastised Damon and an anxious Alaric. She heads to bed instead, silence weighing heavy on her shoulders. She almost dissolves in tears when Elena hugs both her and Caroline in what feels like an unspoken apology.

That night, Bonnie shrouds the Salvatore mansion with ward upon ward, and settles in bed between Caroline and Elena. Just like old times. Childhood warmth is replaced by familiar absence of life shrouding her as she falls further into a deep sleep, limbs surrendering to exhaustion, magic tucked safely inside her.

That night, she drowns in fitful dreams, a large red eye peering at her. She sees herself run through a long corridor, opening a door and falling and falling into a black void only to see the red eye open before impact. And it devours her.

That night, she feels something brush against her, it is soft and familiar, but her mind is trapped in those dreams and her magic is drowsy in her sleep.

The following morning, they wake to find Damon and Elena are missing.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Kai taps his fingers on the table, a rhythmic tempo that pulls his thoughts into a cadence. He neatens them into a specific order, tying them together with wisps of logic, putting all the pieces on the board of his mind to form a semblance of game plan.

They're in the living room, sitting at the dining table. Kai rests his forearms on the table, cradling a plate littered with crumbs of key lime and raspberry pie. His thumbs drum a light beat that picks up pace on the smooth wooden surface. Soe sips a glass of wine, lounging on a chair to his left, while Liv sits across from him, arms crossed, blue eyes peering at the large bay window opening into a neatly maintained garden. Dark ivy crawls and knits into the walls of the garden, surrounding strange plants protected from a bleeding sun by the shade of a tree cradling dark grey apples.

The garden seems to pay heed to the mood of its master, whispering in anticipation, as Kai waits with Soe and Liv, silence pounding against walls. The quiet frays at Kai's nerves, his twin sister's name hammering in his head like a warning and he releases a steadying breath.

Liv hisses then, the sound sudden and sharp. Kai and Soe look up and lean toward her over the table. Liv disentangles her arms, and stretches her open right palm in the middle of the table, for them to see. Dark red letters carve themselves into her hand, familiar clipped writing, his father's signature. Kai glances at Liv and her features are cool as if no pain followed the initial sting announcing the message.

His eyes revert back to her palm.

_Mystic Falls Cemetery. Tmw 3pm._

"Guess we know where to find him," Kai peers long at Liv's palm as if it would tell him where Jo truly is. He watches as Liv pokes her palm with her left index and the letters dissolve into black ash that spills on the expensive wooden surface. She calls for one of his beakers in the kitchen and makes it float into her hand. She then pours the ash into the beaker.

"For keepsake," Liv meets Kai's suspicious stare. "It's dad's blood. We never know. Could be useful."

Kai flicks his fingers and the beaker forcefully flies into his open hand. "Then as your Coven Leader, it's best if I keep it."

Liv sends him a withering glare but he only smiles, snapping his fingers, and makes the ash disappear.

His baby sister crosses her arms again, wisps of anger whirl around her, cutting, brutal, at his aura. A snide, lopsided grin carves into her lips, eyes turning ice blue and Kai braces himself.

"So, I guess you know where we're going, don't you?"

Malachai growls, uneasy. Kai's magic sharpens and Expression pricks his skin. Another type of fear, different to the one tied to Jo, one he wished he would never have to taste again, burns and dries out his throat. Its lingering bitter aftertaste stays, heavy, on his tongue. Kai locks blank eyes with Liv's fiery blue, offers a lazy shrug and a weak smirk.

Soe snorts. He can feel her dissecting eyes appraise him. "Are you sure you're ready to go to another prison world? One that you don't have the key to?"

Liv lifts her eyebrows, snide smile widening at Soe's words.

Kai chuckles, swallowing, but that acrid taste remains in his mouth. "It's not like I have a choice. He has Jo. We'll have to play by his rules. For now anyway."

"Can't your crazy coven bring some back up to help or something?" Soe pours herself another glass of wine and Kai's dried throat aches for its sweet burn. Kai picks the wine and takes a long swig straight from the bottle. Soe tsk-tsks in disapproval while Liv rolls her eyes.

Kai welcomes the alcohol laced in sweet sugary liquid when it chafes at his insides, steadying his hammering heart. He heaves a sigh before turning to Soe.

"This is Parker business. My fucked up coven is content watching us on the sidelines tear each other apart. Best case scenario, I get locked up. Worst case, I go back to Portland. And even then, they'll be getting ready to get rid of a freak like me. Right, Livvie Poo?" and his tone is mocking when he lands his gaze on his sister.

Liv beams at him, nodding. "Pretty much, yeah."

She tilts her head, assessing him. "Then again, a better leader – well – a  _better man_  would have accepted the sacrifice. The life of one in a prison world for the survival of the rest of the coven. And no more merge."

Evil kitty, Kai thinks. His lips twist, failing to borrow the semblance of a smile. "Too bad I'm not a better man."

"Luke would have done it," Liv sneers.

"Too bad Luke couldn't win the merge."

Soe snickers then, echoing Malachai's guffaw.

"Yeah. Too bad. We wouldn't be in this fucked up situation if he did.  _Jo_  would be safe if he did," Liv spits back, eyes incandescent.

Kai grinds his teeth but doesn't say anything. He chugs on the wine instead, almost drinking all of it and breathes out a weary sigh.

"Well, at least everyone will do their best not to kill you," Soe shrugs.

"Small victories, I guess," Kai muses. He drinks the last of the bottle. Soothing warmth spreads and blankets his body in a soft embrace, teasing his senses.

In a way, the confrontation is as much a test for him as it is for his Father. Joshua has to prove he will take care of his son. And this time for good. That he will ensure the coven's survival and it will only strengthen his position. As for Kai, taking down Joshua is the first hurdle he has to clear before taking back what is his. And the sooner, the better. The fit of madness that resulted in him butchering his siblings had put Joshua in a precarious position. One that he needs to fortify if he is to ever rule the Geminis.

For all intents and purposes, Kai should be dead. Instead his Father opted to lock him up, to the resentment of the other families of the coven. And to Malachai's unending gratitude.

The Geminis used to either kill or sentence siphoners to their dedicated prison world up until their Heretic versions, siphoners turned vampires that became almost indestructible, last battled the Geminis in 1906. April 18th 1906. The battle had been of such a magnitude that it led to what history books meekly dubbed the San Francisco earthquake. Prior to that, the Geminis had fended off another wave of weaponized siphoners in 1903 with Heretics aided this time by the vampire clan of none other than Lily Salvatore. And before that, other attacks by those that sought revenge on the Geminis, revenge on the abuse they had put them through because they were born as direct threats to one of the oldest covens in America.

The first signs of siphoner rebellion were always brutally nipped in the bud, until the siphoners came in contact with vampires, other victims of the Geminis prejudice and subsequent policing. They discovered the weapon they could be made into. Heretics they became and they spent the large part of the 18th and 19th century endeavoring to rip the Gemini entity to shreds. Sometimes that meant alliances with other species, other times it meant allying with other covens that were seeking to lay a hand on the much sought after authority on prison worlds, and what were in them.

Yet, the Gemini coven still stood strong, still survived. Mostly thanks to their peculiar type of ruthlessness. Kai always admired the cruel sense of irony Geminis use in dealing with their enemies, especially abominations created out of their own bloodlines. Stealing the creation of a siphoner and using it to imprison them, was one telling example.

The 1906 battle had been one of the bloodiest in Gemini history, almost decimating the entire coven, which prompted a change in the way of dealing with siphoners. A new procedure was set. One that every siphoner reaching 13 years of age was to undergo, under the threat of serving as food to hungry Heretics. Geminis used siphoner blood to create an antidote, a spell that would eat away their siphoning abilities and coupled it with a locator spell to help track any of their movements. The procedure was akin to new territory for Gemini magic, an experiment, so much so that for the first half of the 20th century, no siphoner who underwent the procedure survived.

Time and knowledge helped perfect the spell, permitting the paltry number of siphoners born since the 1950s to live a semblance of normal life. As normal as having their every move watched, sensing something alien crawl under their skin with no way to get rid of it.

And then came the golden rule. A siphoner that hurt or attacked another Gemini was to be sentenced to death.

The Gemini coven would protect siphoners against other species and covens as long as they never laid a hand or directed any harm toward a Gemini. In a peculiar sense of ownership, the coven still saw the siphoners as their own.

And that's where Malachai comes in.

It had been almost a century since a siphoner was born out of the Coven leader bloodline. Kai will never forget the visceral fear that widened his parents' eyes when five year old Malachai stole little Josette's magic, making her cry so loud, Joshua and his mother rushed to soothe their child just to realize the Gemini curse paid a visit to the Parker home, once again, taking their son in ransom.

So Joshua tried and tried to cure the disease that affected his son, his potential heir, the future of the coven. Fourteen years of spells, of pleading, of apologies, of Jo healing Malachai's wounds. Enough for him to hate and at the same time long for magic, enough for him to learn never to trust it. Not completely. Fourteen years that would have been even harder to bear if it wasn't for the second condition that affected him.

The less visible one. The one he treasured as a secret, secret that he guilted Jo into keeping. The one that found root in and gave power to the name Malachai. The one that mirrored his defective magic. Just as Malachai was born with no ties to nature, it seemed he was born without a heart as well. The hungry void gnawing at his stomach only echoed the one behind his left ribs.

It became fun then.

Malachai found solace in receiving pain only to inflict it tenfold, starting with pets, stray animals and then, sometimes, veering toward his twin sister, always ready to play sacrificial lamb, guilt making her accept her role of expiatory victim. Until Joshua started punishing Jo when he felt Malachai didn't help him enough in his attempts to cure him.

But the real fun was acting as the perfect son, the one who understood he had to be kept safe from the coven who didn't know, the son who understood why he needed to be cured, the one they thought didn't resent the births of Joey, of Brian, of Sara and then Claire, commiserating with the family when none were twins. The one who inwardly chuckled at his Father's bonding time with him, pathetic attempts at apologizing for the spells he put him through. The son dreaming of trapping Joey's head between his hands and push and push and make it pop like a balloon, brains and blood coating his fingers. The one who dreamed of drowning the Parker household into an ocean of their own blood.

It  _was_  fun. Until the summer of 1991. When her mother came back home with a larger than usual bundle. With not one but two newborns. It took all of Malachai's will to keep the smile plastered on his features when his father told him that he could take the siphoner procedure, now that he was no longer to be an heir.

That was when Malachai felt true fear.

When he realized he actually had something to lose. When he knew that he could never live as one of those lowly siphoners turned into mere humans, allowed to roam free in the cage the Geminis had built for them. So he smiled, nodded, and let a plan form in his mind. Malachai let a week pass, missing the ghost fingers of spells tearing into his flesh to make him tick again. Then he went to his Father and gave an Academy award worthy performance. He begged, teary eyed, imploring Joshua to not put him up for the procedure, telling him the Geminis would never forgive him the lies and secrecy. Promising that Malachai will try to find another way. He begged his Father to give him at least time to find a cure to have magic again. He bargained with his Father, with tears, with guilt, with cunning, until he got what he wanted.

Three years.

Three years to see his parents coo on the little twins, to feel Jo's suspicious gaze follow him, like a second skin, wondering what her other half was up to. Three years to iron out the different kinks of his plan. Three years during which he met Soe Yun, he stifled a relieved smile when learning of his mother's death, he listened to the ticking clock in his mind.

May 10th 1994 should have been the day he would have become the first Gemini leader to be a Siphon. If it wasn't for Jo, always sneaky little Jo. Instead, it was the day the Gemini coven discovered that Joshua had protected his son, had lied to the Gemini and had almost inadvertently led to their extinction. And yet, Joshua still fought tooth and nail against Malachai's death. Too good for the monster he was, his Father said. Instead Joshua put Malachai in the prison his paranoia had led him to build with Sheila Bennett's help. But the Gemini never forgot. Never let go of what some saw as betrayal from their own Leader.

Which leads Kai to his current predicament.

There have been whispers of Gemini members seeking to undo the magic binding them to the Parker bloodline. Ever since they dodged a bullet with the 1994 massacre. Soe had told him of rogue witches being sought out by unknown sponsors to experiment powerful unbinding spells. Kai followed the trail tainted with black magic that led him all the way to Portland, Oregon. Just like in 1906, the Geminis were searching for anything that could help get rid of a siphoner, especially now with one as their leader.

He needs to take care of his Father and secure Jo's allegiance before his coven eliminates him once again.

Kai rakes frustrated hands in his short hair. His mind goes back to Jo, to their deal, one that she didn't seem to trust he would uphold. She is the key for him to get back on that throne in Portland. And the key for Joshua to dispose of him.

He looks up at a silent Liv, seemingly also lost in her thoughts. She lands narrowed eyes on him, brows furrowed in question.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, make sure Jo gets out and is safe."

Liv snorts, and the sound is anything but pleasant to his ears. "No need to tell me what to do. I'm only getting in there for Jo. As soon as we are out, you do not matter anymore."

Kai responds with a cold smile. "Please. We all know you're just a self-serving brat. Jo must have promised you something. No way you would help her that much just because she's your sister."

Liv's eyes sharpen, and Malachai hisses. Kai schools his features into a blank, bored look, when Liv leans forward, arms still crossed. "Well, I've learned from the best, didn't I? A monster that was ready to kill little three-year old me just because he wanted the Gemini throne," Liv spits, her hatred staring back at Kai. "What is between me and Jo, is none of your business. Like I said before, as soon as she's out, you. don't. matter."

Their auras clash violently and Kai stamps on the need to let go and follow Malachai's gentle coaxing, urging him to hurt her, to make her remember what siphoning felt like so she learns to get in line. Yet, something, that something he used to call Luke but that has taken root and blossomed in every parcel of his being, gently sighs against his temple, soothes the serrated edges of his magic and persuades him into letting Liv off the hook.

The last thing he wants is to prove her right. No matter how much she pushes him to.

A sudden familiar touch burns him and it sends a delicious thrill coursing through his veins, breathes life into his tired limbs and making his heart beat a touch faster. Kai lets himself revel in the spicy taste teasing his tongue, taunting his senses. The taste he knows he will never get enough of. But that taste is also swathed in resentment, sprinkled with betrayal that nips at the muscle beating against his ribcage and fuels Malachai's warnings.

Kai inhales a sharp breath and feels the other auras surrounding that fiery, spicy addictive touch he longs for, despite everything. He counts two cold signatures and two other ones, warmer this time.

"They're here," Soe says, and drinks the rest of her glass of wine. She flickers a lazy finger and sends the glass and Kai's plate to fly back into the kitchen sink.

Kai leans against the back of his chair, turning to Liv. "Lower your ward."

Something must have coated his voice, as his baby sister follows his order without any question, nor sign of defiance. The delicious taste becomes overwhelming; its potency free from the shackles of Liv's ward and it turns his nerves into livewires. Kai's swallows the wisps of fiery magic, a wan smile curving his lips.

The three witches stare at the living room's entrance as Bonnie, Stefan and Caroline step inside the Parker headquarters.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Bonnie is a mess. Silent legions of conflicting emotions wage war inside her. Relief over knowing Kai is ok battles raging fury at him kidnapping her friends, putting her right in the middle as the pawn to use on his chess match with his father. Then comes the brush of his magic that makes her body betray her, swiftly followed by her mind unearthing memories of their fight in his car, of his words cutting like blades, of him saving her life in the woods.

Yes, a confused, brittle mess.

The reason why she follows instead of leading Stefan and Caroline into the house she's become well acquainted too. She feels soft whispers on her neck, power she's grown to know, and sometimes ache for, thrums in the air, tickles her with the ghost fingers of Kai's hands, greedy, on her skin. Bonnie inhales a steadying breath. Her features borrow the traits of defiant certainty and she wills her backbone to straighten, to give off the appearance of strength, may it be all an illusion.

Bonnie feels Kai's eyes on her the second she steps foot in the living room, but she lays hers on Liv instead, studying her false relaxed posture. The youngest Parker offers a bored look, aloof. Bonnie however catches the blink and you'll miss it flicker of relief coloring Liv's face when she seems to realize only Stefan and Caroline came with her. Bonnie then meets Kai's friend's stare, the woman who hurt Stefan and Elena at Alaric's wedding. The witch smiles, cold and shark like. Something mocking dances in her black pupils as her gaze goes from the tip of Bonnie's boots, ogling, appreciative, her form fitting jeans and red coat to settle on her reddening face. Bonnie quickly averts her stare.

She eventually plucks up her courage and locks eyes with Kai. Strange wistfulness, like hollow nostalgia for something she never really had, washes over her. Kai's pupils are blank, a deceptively calm, grey ocean, but Bonnie can see what lurks behind it, can sense the sharpening of his aura when it brushes against hers. He looks at her, only her, like a jilted lover, like he had pried his ribcage open, cut his heart out and offered it only for her to burn it to the ground. He looks at her like he did when she turned down his offer to go to Portland. As if he gave her the power to hurt him and she used it.

And now he's punishing me, Bonnie thinks, glaring back at him, resentment at being put against her will in other people's battles breathing life into her anger, adding iron to her defenses. So in familiar Bennett bravado, she juts her chin, crosses her arms and holds Kai's gaze. A few heartbeats pass, uneasy silence crowding the space between opposite sides, as Kai and Bonnie are locked in a quiet standoff. His aura eventually softens, but Bonnie can still sense the exasperation radiating in waves from him, lapping at her own frayed nerves. The tight coil of her stomach loosens but she doesn't allow herself to relax. Not before knowing where Elena and Damon are.

In an instant, Kai slips on the mask of the jovial trickster, features easing into a wide smile and questioning eyes.

"Well, well, well. To what do I owe the pleasure of vampires visiting my humble abode? You guys do know the polite thing to do is call though, right?"

"Where are they, Kai?" Stefan takes a step forward, voice dangerously low.

"Where are who?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"Sorry, Steven," Kai sighs, leaning forward, clasped hands over the table. "Or is it Stephen? We never got properly introduced by the way."

"Kai," Stefan warns and Bonnie can see his posture tense, muscles locked in a predator's stance, ready to attack.

"Look, man, you gotta be more specific. I know I'm a super duper powerful witch, like the X men have nothing on me. But this face is no professor Xavier, which, bummer. That would have been a neat power to have." Kai shrugs and his friend sneers, eyes studying the vampires. The witch's stare burns Bonnie's temple, lingering, and it makes Bonnie's residual Expression, lazily crawling inside her, pause and take notice. It rushes to the surface, eager, stinging her skin.

"Where are Damon and Elena?" Stefan asks again, articulating every word as if talking to a child.

"Shouldn't you guys know?" Kai raises his brows, not putting enough effort in acting incredulous. "I mean, weren't you guys the last to see them? You know, when you turned tail and ran since your shitty plan with my Daddy failed?"

The dulcet tone of Kai's voice sounds like a warning. Its sweet, velvety venom makes everyone tense. The ensuing loaded silence is dripping with gasoline, with one wrong word the needed spark to make it explode. Kai leans back against his chair, sharp eyes landing on Bonnie again, but this time she averts her gaze, staring at Stefan's back. She can see Stefan's shoulders waver and slump slightly, uneasiness making him lose his former determined balance.

"What do you want Kai?" Stefan eventually heaves in a weary sigh.

Kai snorts. "From you? Not a single thing."

This time Liv joins Kai's friend in the snickering. "Now, that was mean," the witch sneers.

"But oh so true." Liv adds, disdain coating her eyes as she glances at Stefan.

"Look," says an exasperated voice, verging on shrill and everyone turns to Caroline, who has the sense to look wary and apologetic. "That stupid plan was Damon's dumb idea. Elena had nothing to do with it so it's not right that she gets caught in your stupi –" and there Caroline's meets Kai's cold eyes and she stops, inhales a deep breath.

"It's not her fault that Damon made an enemy out of you," she amends. "If you have a beef to settle, do it with Damon. But Elena shouldn't suffer the consequences. We can help you in anyone of your plans to take on your Dad or save your sister, anything. Just let Elena go."

Caroline ends her tirade breathless, baby blues wide, but she stands her ground and Bonnie would have hugged the life out of her if it wasn't for their current predicament. She looks up at Kai who she finds smirking, almost stifling a laugh, while still staring at Caroline. However the silence is cut by his friend. The witch leans forward, hunger openly simmering from her pupils while she gives Caroline a once over. A feral smile stretches her lips.

"Spunky." She titters, glancing at Kai. "I like her"

The witch's words chafe at Bonnie, she bristles, fierce protectiveness flaring in her chest. She moves then, and goes to stand in front of Caroline, shielding her friend from Kai's probing and his friend's leering. She locks narrow eyes with the witch.

"Well she doesn't like you, so stop staring at her." Bonnie spits, tone cutting.  _Or else_. Her magic lets her silent warning fill the quiet. Kai smiles, this time genuine. The witch snickers and retreats, leaning back against her chair.

Kai tilts his head, eyes roving around Bonnie's small frame to get a better look at Caroline. He waggles a finger at her, eyes seemingly curious. "I don't think we've been introduced either, and Bonnie never told me anything about you," he says in mock indignation, before turning wide eyes to Bonnie. "Why did you never tell me about her? She seems fun … in a type A kind of way."

He tsks disapprovingly and doesn't let Bonnie reply when he turns his eyes back toward a befuddled Caroline, offering a wide smile. "Hi, I'm Kai."

"And I'm Soe Yun," his friend says, waving her hand at Caroline. "But you can call me Soe. And I do like type As."

Bonnie and her companions are stunned into silence. She vacillates between sheer annoyance and cold fury at Kai's antics. Stefan and Caroline seem to share her sentiment, their tense postures attesting to their growing impatience.

"And you are?" Kai raises his brows in askance, waiting for an answer, like a stubborn child.

Liv huffs an exasperated breath, rolling her eyes. "And she's Caroline Forbes, Bonnie and Elena's childhood BFF and official member of the incestuous club with Stefan and Damon. Can we move on please?"

Kai sends a sharp glare toward Liz who only shrugs. Soe Yun licks her lips and smiles. "Well, hello there Caroline."

"Apparently Caroline doesn't seem to like your big bro that much, Steven." Kai meets Stefan's glare with a mocking smirk. "She only wants Elena back. I wonder why."

"Maybe because the bro is a grade A bitch," Soe Yun supplies

"Well he happens to be one, so that might explain it," Kai lifts placating hands toward Stefan. "No disrespect meant."

Bonnie sees red. She blows out a sharp exhale, shaking her head. She then takes a step forward, fiery eyes locking with Kai's. She crosses her arms, keeping her body and her magic coiled. The last thing they need is another witch battle with Geminis.

"I'm glad you find this amusing. And I'm really sorry to be a Debbie downer but I need to talk to you. Alone." She tried her best not to make it sound like an order but she's pissed and exhausted and fucking had it.

Kai snorts. His cool eyes slant the slope of her neck and travel up to meet her stare. Bonnie shivers. Kai's gaze almost deflates her bravado.

"I don't think you're in a position to demand anything, Bonnie," Kai states, sarcastic, and the soothing voice is back again, making her tense. "Besides, we're all trustworthy friends here, who won't backstab or double cross or what not. We can speak freely. Without secrets."

Bonnie swallows the intended accusation in his words. She nods, her lips curving into a wan smile. She then softens her gaze, injects warmth into it, coats it with a touch of helplessness and looks at Kai intently again.

"Kai, please," she almost whispers and her heart hammers, wild, against her ribcage as everyone looks back and forth at them. They remain quiet, however, seemingly wary to intrude on an intimate conversation. She watches him narrow his eyes, grind his teeth, jaw slowly working. A heavy silence stretches and for a moment it seems like life stands still, waiting as well.

"Leave us." The order cuts, sharp, through the stillness. A few heartbeats pass and Liv and Soe Yun stand, walking out of the room, Stefan in tow seconds after. Caroline throws a last glance at Kai before squeezing Bonnie's hand and heads out. When the front door clicks shut, Bonnie lets out the breath she had kept trapped in her lungs. Only to realize that she is alone, nerves frayed, on the edge of panic, with Kai Parker, whose feelings might have been hurt and whose composed posture hide cold anger ready to lash out.

"I don't know about you, but I need alcohol for this conversation," Kai stands; stretches his limbs and with it the black nirvana shirt that complements his grey pants. He heads to the kitchen, not sparing her any glance. Bonnie stays rooted to the spot, slowing her erratic heart, to no avail. Fear has it caught in its iron grip, not ready to let go. So Bonnie shuts her eyes, counts to three and reluctantly steps into the kitchen.

She finds Kai standing behind the counter, shot glasses meticulously arranged in three rows of three and a tequila bottle placed in front of him. Sage burns on the island, tendrils of smoke swirling in the air, trapping any sound into the temporary soundproof cell the kitchen has become.

He turns to look at her and it's not a grey still ocean anymore. It's a dark storm whose intensity she'd rather not get sucked into. Bonnie averts her eyes. She swallows painfully, throat dry, and squares her shoulders, before moving to stand across from him, a few feet away from the counter, that poses as effective barrier between them.

At long last, she finds his stare, arms crossed into a semblance of shield.

"Kai, where are they?" she asks, but the words come out hoarse and tired, forcing their way against a parched throat and a heavy tongue.

Kai stares at her for a moment but stays silent. Instead, he downs a shot, hissing against the burn of the alcohol, and meets her increasingly worried gaze. "Sorry, can't tell you."

Bonnie exhales an exasperated breath and stands taller. "Are they ok? Did you hurt them? I swear to god if you've done anything to them-"

"You'll what?" Kai dares and levels her with a withering glare. Bonnie disentangles her arms, her hands tight fists at her sides, her back ramrod, and it takes all her will not to reduce the kitchen and its powerful occupant to cindering dust. Her aura blazes and it scratches, angry, against the sharpened edges of his. But she doesn't do anything. Kai shakes his head.

"Like I said before, you're not in any position to make demands and even less threats," he says as he pours himself another shot of tequila. "So I would tone down that Bennett bravado if I were you."

He downs it in one go, and delicately puts the glass back in its row. He then picks the bottle, filling another shooter.

Bonnie flicks her fingers and the shot glasses shatter sideways into tiny crystalline shards. She's way past the point of playing his stupid little mind games and he needs to stop wasting the little time she has.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" Kai all but growls, controlled fury radiating from him as he assesses the mess she's made, brushing remnants of glass from his shirt. "Real mature, Bonnie," he locks furious black eyes with Bonnie's and she wilts, her heart skipping a beat.

She pushes new air into her aching lungs, a balm to the Expression darkened magma scorching away her composure and lifts her open left hand toward the shattered glass. The shards are akin to white sand that come together, and glue themselves into a ball. She then moves her fingers left and the white, translucent ball flies into the trashcan.

She crosses her arms, and meets his eyes still brimming with anger. Exhaustion creeps over her body. Her shoulders slump, she releases a tired breath and lifts a hand to rub her eyes.

Kai sighs. The tension in the kitchen eases, slowly ebbing away.

"Elena is fine," Kai grumbles. "Wouldn't say the same for Damon. But he's a big boy, he can take it."

Bonnie welcomes the faint traces of relief, coaxing fear into releasing it. She rakes a frustrated hand through her hair, wavy strands having grown almost past her shoulders.

"Is this your way of punishing me? My friends attack you and you lash out at me?" Bonnie asks, a bit defeated, a lot resentful. She looks up when Kai barks out a despondent laugh. He takes a long swig of tequila straight from the bottle and puts it back on the counter with a loud thud.

"Believe it or not, my every move doesn't revolve around you." His words are bitter and cutting, his eyes like blades. "I'm going to rescue Jo and the last thing I need is to worry about possible backstabbing from your precious Damon. So the best way to make sure your beloved weasel doesn't fuck with my plan is to keep him in check. And apparently threatening Elena is the most efficient way to keep him in check."

Bonnie looks down, effectively chastised. She nods, cobbles together the rest of Bennett strength steeling her heart and takes a tentative step forward, Kai's suspicious stare following her.

"Then, let us help you," she breathes out, almost pleading. "Like Caroline said, we are willing to help you, genuinely help, to rescue Jo. She means a lot to all of us. And if it means getting Elena and Damon back, then all the better."

Kai snickers, a snakelike hiss, full of scorn. "You and your friends have done enough."

Bonnie huffs an annoyed breath at his dismissal, however undeterred. "For a leader of a powerful coven, I don't see much back up from your fellow witches. Your father showed how powerful and determined he and his followers are. I think you need all the help you can get to rescue Jo," she states, iron back in her voice, strengthened when Kai doesn't reply with a barb, only silently staring at her instead. "And you've pretty much ensured we'll do whatever you ask by kidnapping Elena and Damon. So let us help. Please."

It's Kai's turn to cross his arms. His eyes rove her features, and Bonnie forces herself to hold his gaze when his stormy eyes bore into hers, making her heart pound, this time not from fear. She waits, and her eyes widen when a flash of hurt flickers through his face, and he clenches his jaw, seemingly mulling over a question.

"Did you know?" Kai asks at last and Bonnie forgets to breathe.

She bites her lip, the one searching for the right words now. She settles on the truth.

"Yes – well, not exactly."

"What do you mean – not exactly?"

Bonnie blows out a weary sigh and turns wary eyes up to him. "The plan was initially to lock you up when rescuing Damon's mother. I told them you were working on building a prison for your father and needed my help. While I would help you, Damon and the others would try to get in touch with your father and have him lock you up after the rescue." She stops, swallowing something dark and bitter, akin to guilt, when Kai offers a tight smile.

Bonnie rubs the bridge of her nose and wills air back into her lungs. "I don't know what happened after. Damon told me they couldn't get in touch with your father. So I assumed that they abandoned the initial plan. But of course, he lied."

Kai's chuckle is hollow, somewhat pained, and it corrodes the steel of her resolve.  _I don't owe him anything_ , she tells herself, repeating it like a mantra, to smother the snide whispers of her betraying conscience.

"You Bennetts really know how to hold a grudge," Kai lets out, shaking his head. "So I guess the sex was a way to distract me, right?"

Color rises to her cheeks but Bonnie looks up, meeting his stare head on, refusing to feel any shame. She just shrugs.

"The sex was not planned. It just happened. It was just sex anyway."

Kai nods.

"Would you have told me?" He asks and Bonnie hates how soft and hesitant his voice is, how almost vulnerable it makes him sound. "If Damon confirmed that the plan was still on with my Father. Would you have told me?"

Bonnie stares at him and sees calm grey again. But she can feel what boils underneath. She looks at him and doesn't say anything.  _I don't know_  weighs heavy on her tongue, but she figures Kai doesn't care for her uncertainty.

Her ensuing silence is punctuated by his defeated smile.

Bonnie feels loss weigh on her, something she won't call blame making it hard to breathe, as if the walls were closing in on her.  _I don't owe him anything_ , she silently screams at her conscience. Not after everything he put her through.

"I didn't promise you anything," she blurts out, her mind in overdrive. "I don't owe you anything," she repeats aloud, hoping it would make her believe it.

His eyes burn her but it's his silence that unsettles her the most. Kai's silence is a vicious snare that is unrelenting; it suffocates her, pounds in her ears. It makes her wish he lashed out, at least so she can fight him, at least so she can ease back into their well-rehearsed dance of hurt and hurt back.

Bonnie curls her arms tight around her body, looking everywhere but at him.

"Tell me Bonnie," and she braces herself for his words. "Why do you hate me so much?"

She scoffs out a disbelieving laugh, hoping anger can resurface, willing it to shroud her and drown out the whispers dripping with disappointment thrumming in her mind.

Kai lifts placating hands. "Right. I'm a monster, murderer, I stabbed you, yadda, yadda. Still, why do you hate me more than all the others? Others that have hurt you in more ways than I did."

She tightens her arms around her waist, hoping he would just  _do_  something instead of trying to understand. No one has tried to understand and it makes it easier. It makes it easier, to keep her emotions tightly locked, coiled into a pocket sewn into the darker corners of her heart. Her fears, her bitterness, her anger. God, she is so angry, so furious, so enraged that she can burn the whole world to the ground and it won't be enough.

Most of all, she is terrified. She's been for so long that it's almost become part of the pieces that make up the jagged puzzle that is Bonnie Bennett. She's terrified of not knowing who she is anymore, having wandered so far into the rabbit hole that there is no more light at the end of the tunnel, just a dark path she has forced her eyes to accustom to. She's terrified of knowing exactly who she's supposed to be, what she's supposed to do and not being strong enough to do it. She's absolutely, mind numbingly, terrified of being faced with the truth. It will set her free but it will also leave a scorched earth and a gaping bottomless abyss in its wake. A price she's not sure she'll be willing to pay.

Bonnie looks up at Kai, and she almost winces at the earnest longing seeping from his gaze.

And she is terrified of someone who can read her so easily, who can understand so easily, who is the broken mirror that shows her who she truly is.

Bonnie is tired, so, so tired of being terrified.

She huffs a weary sigh, letting go, for one fleeting moment, of the shackles weighing her down. Duty, loyalty, control.

Fear.

She walks to him, rounds the counter, and stops a couple of inches from him, breathing in his magic that eagerly catches hers and, greedy, draws her in. She lets its taste, chaos tangled with freedom, linger on her tongue. Kai watches her intently, shoulders tense, hands in his pockets.

Bonnie gathers her courage and stares up at him. "I don't ha – I _am_  messed up. I've been for a long time. But it was okay because I rationalized it, and built a life around how messed up I was. I had a system – see, I sacrificed everything I had, the small number of people that loved me for nothing. Really for nothing if you think about it, my Grams died for nothing, my mum got turned into a vampire for nothing, my dad was killed for nothing. So Elena and Caroline, this town, Matt and Jeremy and Tyler, they're all I have left, and if I keep them alive, if I keep them safe, then all I've lost won't have been for nothing. That was my system. And then you come along."

Bonnie can almost feel Kai reliving what he did to her back in 1994. The dip of his shoulders betray him, the way he almost physically recoils from her words, taking a step back, eyes unable to hold her gaze. And the blackened, bitter part of her heart revels on his guilt, feeds on it, smiles inwardly at the way she can seemingly hurt him with it, when her friends can only muster hollow discomfort. So she takes another step forward, not letting him retreat, not allowing him a reprieve, the same way he hounded her in his prison like a cat playing with a trapped, bleeding mouse.

"You hurt me, physically, mentally. You traumatized me and you were so good at it. You find every weakness like it's a fucking sport and you hit where it hurts the most." She says, in a deceptive calm almost singsong voice. "Do you know how terrifying that is? To have someone read you with such ease, show you what you really are and use it against you. When you left me in 1994, I've never been so scared in my life. And the longer I stayed there, alone, I realized the lesson you taught me, I realized how right you were and I was ready to end it once and for all, reduce my existence to nothing again.  _Because_   _of you_."

"Bonnie – I"

"I don't hate you, Kai." She concedes and he perks up, something dangerously like hope coating his eyes and Bonnie doesn't feel like having the upperhand anymore, not when her words are slowly pulling him back toward her. "At least, not as much as when you left me," a weak glare is the shaky period to her sentence and Kai stops short of her personal space, short of his magic brushing her resentment away. She locks eyes with him, brows furrowed as she tries to make sense of that feeling, primal and raw, he wheedles out of her, what he so easily sparks inside her and makes her lose her footing every time she's with him.

"I hate how I will never be able to go back to what I was, so I have no other choice than to change. I hate how you just come into my life and force me to change. You break me and then save my life and then just waltz in, use me for whatever fucked up plan you have, and when you're finished, add insult to injury, and just show me how pathetic my life is – you know – just for fun, another little game, that last hit for free. Well, then, yes, you are right, my life is fucked up, I am a hypocritical mess and I am weak for doing nothing about it. I am not big bad Kai Parker who has no problem fucking everyone's life up. You are right, as always. You won. There. Happy?" she says, throwing exasperated arms up in the air. Rant over, they fall back, helpless, along her sides.

Bonnie tries to steady her heart, and fixes him with eyes full of spite. But her will wavers, dissolves at the barely concealed feverish hurt staring back at her. Kai hangs his head, his hands clenching and unclenching. He sighs and takes a resolute step forward, that makes Bonnie's heart jolt against her breastbone.

"I am sorry, so sorry," he breathes out, his eyes finding hers and not letting her look away. "I wish I could undo all I did to you but I can't. And you won't let me –"

"I don't owe you that," she counters, "Trauma doesn't just go like this." Bonnie snaps angry fingers at him. "Like hey you know what, you haven't stabbed me in a while maybe I should forgive you? Even though I still have nightmares and can't breathe and feel like I'm going crazy? You can't expect me to ever forget how I felt when you abandoned me in your prison, when I tried to kill myself."

"I know that!" he snaps back, frustrated, knifelike magic clashing against her fiery one. Kai huffs a sharp exhale and rubs tired hands over his face, seemingly trying to calm himself. "Look, you're right, you don't owe me anything, even less your forgiveness. You can make me pay any way you want for what I did to you. But you can't just punish me for showing you the truth you don't have the guts to face."

His accusation shoots through her pride and leaves a hole where righteous certainty once stood, its tattered remnants making her widen furious eyes at him. Kai levels her with a firm stare, his tall frame looming over her. "I'm not going to be your punching bag because you don't know how to react around me. You were ready to lock me up again when I have been nothing but honest with you after I saved your life-"

"Because you needed me for your plan with your father!"

"Wrong again, I could have gotten another Bennett for that," Kai edges further, stepping all over her personal space, making the invisible barrier wilt against his magic, parting it in his way to her. "Why would I have almost killed myself to make sure you came back? Why, after being free and merging with my brother? Why, after Liv stabbed me and I was bleeding, and I still tried to save you."

Bonnie can only offer a helpless shrug in response, rankled at his silvertongue coating all his words with mocking truth, nudging her off the increasingly fragile line of certitude, line that blurs with that of stubborn denial. Kai's lips lean into a wan smile, eyes becoming haunted.

"You know when I got that thing, after the merge, I thought my head was splitting open," and he points to his head, his hand mimicking a gun pointed to his temple. He fake pulls the trigger and breathes out lifeless laughter. "I was reliving everything I ever did but with the added bonus of guilt. Which, I thought 18 years in prison would drive me crazy but boy did I underestimate that damn merge."

"Why are you telling me this, Kai?"

"Just – hear me out, ok – I made a list. Left column, the stuff I could do nothing about, top of the list my dead siblings. And right, the ones I could at the very least repent to. Liv, that poor girl I stabbed after I got out, Jo," and he lays earnest eyes on her, "You."

He purses his lips, defeat dulling the longing that previously brightened his pupils. "No need to say the results have been less than encouraging."

"Kai, you can't just expect – "

"I know," he defended. "But I'm trying, Bonnie.  _I'm trying._  I'm trying not to do the wrong thing. I'm fighting instincts inside me that have always been there. I'm trying to be a bit more like you, patient, loyal, but you know with more self-preservation. You of all people should understand"

"I am nothing like you," Bonnie scoffs in disbelief, righteous indignation breathing life into her limbs, urging her to stand tall and firm against Kai's maddening assertions.

"Says the woman who was ready to send me back to my prison just because I had the audacity to try to make amends." Kai sneers, but his eyes twinkle with mischief and a tinge of pride when he pushes his luck and steals closer, his magic gently, deceptively reeling her in. Bonnie has to tether her feet to the ground, willing herself not to budge. "Says the woman who had no problem fucking me while plotting revenge on me. Which, nice move, Bon. Although I can't complain, the sex was amazing."

Her body betrays her of course. Bonnie bristles at memories of Kai pounding inside her, branding her like she was always meant to be his and only his. Her lower abdomen aches in nostalgia of that addictive, sweet human pleasure melded with inhuman power. She squeezes her legs shut, and coils her body inside the protective cage of her arms curled around her waist, willing the burning need Kai so easily ignited with a few simple words to remain just that; a need. She doesn't have to look up at him to feel hunger simmering from his eyes, radiating from his aura that greedily gropes at hers.

Bonnie swallows painfully, stubbornly pays no mind to her rebelling senses and schools her features into a bored look, raising a challenging brow. "Well, I just took a page out of your book. I learned from the best. But it doesn't really matter now, does it? You won, you have my friends hostage and me at your mercy."

"I don't give a shit about your friends –"

"Then what do you want, Kai?" Bonnie lets out in a tired whisper, one that she almost regrets when Kai takes it as his cue to erase the remaining tiny space between them. Bonnie steps backwards and her back hits the counter while Kai seizes the opportunity to cage her in between the island and his tall frame, laying a hand on the counter at either side of her much more petite body.

Hope and lust and uncertainty tangle in a storm darkening his eyes and Bonnie shivers.

"I want you," he says, determined, mouth stretching into a hint of a smile, when her eyes widen, her lips parting to inhale a steadying breath for her poor lungs. His hands find her hips, pulling her to him, pressing her to him. "God, Bonnie you have no idea –" His words are pained, repressed hunger that make Bonnie want to forget about Jo, about the Geminis, about Elena, about Damon.

"Can you imagine how much fun we could have together?" he asks, almost giddy and Bonnie's heart skips a beat, stutters at the  _yes yes yes_  a part of her conjures up instantly. She can, actually. Her helpless mind drowns with pretty vivid pictures of her with him, of her under him, of him inside her, of magic bonding and mating and strengthening and consuming, of his darkness calling to hers, smiling at hers, of freedom swelling in her heart as it almost painfully bursts out of her ribcage and it shouldn't be so easy. It shouldn't be so easy for her to be willing to let everything go.

Bonnie searches for a rebuttal but Kai makes it so, so hard when he molds her body to his. Her nerves hiss and purr in want, when his magic tugs hers inside his embrace, when he looks ready to devour her on the spot, to hell with the rescue mission, Gemini business and what not.

"I want you to stop fearing me," he whispers, leaning down to her, close enough to share a secret, but not enough to get lost in a kiss. "I want you to stay for breakfast. I want you to trust me. I want you to want me. Just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it. Anything. Just tell me."

Kai's right hand cups her cheek, the other splayed on the small of her back, keeping her body fastened to his. His thumb strokes her face, a gentle coaxing, while his eyes plead with hers. At her choked silence, his thumb traces a ticklish path downward, finding her parted mouth and runs along her lower lip, gently rubbing it. Bonnie swallows a wanton whimper, and tries to reign in the scary urge flaring, burning in her chest, to have his mouth devour hers.

_I look after my own first._

She leans up into him. His breath tickles, mingling with hers. "Let them go," she breathes out.

Kai's thumb stills. He exhales a slow sigh, weak, disappointed smile twisting his features. He lets her go, taking a step back. His magic relinquishes hers, irritated and resentful. Bonnie welcomes the loss, shapes it into a comforting balm, a soothing cold that wills reason into her mind, that orders her body into composure.

"Anything but that," he concedes, grey blank eyes staring at her again, hands back into the pockets of his pants.

Bonnie nods, her turn to offer a disheartened smile. She looks up at him, firm, eyes cleared of the desired that hooded them seconds ago. "Then I have no more reason to be here. I'll check with Liv with the logistics."

She waits for Kai to give her space to leave. He watches her for a long moment and barks out an empty laugh that echoes maddeningly in her head and almost pulls apart the frail threads of her resolve. Kai eventually takes another step back and Bonnie can breathe again.

She all but flees the kitchen. She tries but fails to reign on her poor hammering heart while walking along the corridor leading to the foyer. It almost comes to a stop when she jumps at the sudden, loud sound of glass crashing against a wall. Kai's anger shoots a violent shudder rippling through groaning walls. Bonnie stops then, eyes lured to the kitchen where she can feel Kai pace and his magic increasingly swells in the space, overwhelming, making utensils tremble and furniture rattle.

Bonnie peers inward, seeks out inside the bedlam that is her mind that stern voice, Grams' voice, she always smothered before doing vampires' bidding, but that never failed to hold kernels of truth. Relief stings sharp when its hiss fills her ears, loath to be used as excuse, resentful to be ignored again.  _It's for the best_ , it grumbles at her.  _But will you listen to me this time?_

No more Devils for her.

Bonnie turns around and heads, resolute, to the foyer, traces of Gemini magic begging behind her.

She takes a moment to calm herself before stepping out of Kai's house. Autumn's breeze nips at her cheeks, a love bite from Nature, reassuring and chiding. Its cold brush is fast replaced by expectant sets of eyes trained on her. Stefan is leaning against the hood of the Salvatore vintage Porsche, stiff posture matched by the crease in his brows, waiting, hands in his pockets. Caroline stands a few feet away near the trunk of the car with Matt and Tyler, and the chasm between both vampires is great enough, digs deep enough, for even Bonnie to feel it.

She glances at Tyler, throwing furtive, brittle glances upward, toward a stone faced Liv Parker who stands guard on the front steps of her brother's home, offering purposeful indifference to the group below. The quiet longing in Tyler's gaze is a tiny flame compared to the inferno raging in Kai's eyes every time he settles them on her. Bonnie stifles a shiver, ignores the mournful ache between her ribcage.

She lays her eyes on Liv, opting for camaraderie, an olive branch as first step in a reluctant partnership. "We're going to help you find Jo," she informs her, and Liv stays silent, eyes assessing her with cool purpose. The apple never falls far from the tree with Parkers it seems. "What's the next step of the plan?" Bonnie asks.

"Kai, didn't tell you?" Liv smirks and Bonnie bristles at the loaded mocking dancing behind her baby blues.

"He told me to ask you," she replies quietly, not rising to Liv's bait.

"No offense, but I'll check that with him. If he's ok with it, you'll get the info."

"Since when do you check things with him?" Bonnie sneers, irritated.

"None of your business;" Liv titters like an insolent child. With a sharp nod, she leaves Bonnie to clamp on her annoyance and heads back into Kai's house. The door slamming closed serves as end of the short conversation.

Bonnie grits her teeth, ordering her magic under control, ignoring the rebellious hiss of Expression.

"What now?" Caroline asks, taking a step toward her.

"Matt and Tyler should continue to search for Elena and Damon –"

"No way you guys are going without us," Matt counters, turning to Tyler for assistance. But Tyler stays mum, seemingly still in the haze of Liv's departure.

"Matt, this is not vampire business," Bonnie says, eyes soft. "These are powerful witches and I don't –"

"You think we'll just be a burden," Matt finishes for her, features hard.

"Yes," Bonnie replies, matter of fact. Matt huffs a sharp breath, hurt flits through his eyes, but is quickly erased by acceptance. Her chest constricts at the dimmed blue of his stare but she clings to the certainty of doing the right thing. She won't be able to protect either Matt or Tyler. She has no idea what they're getting into and she was done letting apathy be her only response to potential collateral damage. Her eyes find Tyler's and he nods at her silent answer for him. Liv will never want him there.

"You will be more useful if you guys find Elena and Damon and look after Alaric," she all but orders, voice welcoming iron back to strengthen its tone.

Matt only bows his head in deference.

"So I guess we wait for Liv to tells us what to do," Stefan summarizes their mockery of a plan. Bonnie nods. Stefan blows out a heavy sigh, glancing to a silent Caroline who ignores him, climbing the front steps to stand near Bonnie.

He takes it as his cue to leave, followed by Matt and Tyler not long after.

When the rasp of rubber against asphalt is just a distant echo, ebbing away in the horizon, Caroline closes a reassuring left hand around Bonnie's palm.

"You ok?"

Bonnie snorts, then laughs, disguised sobs that are hollow and empty. "Not really, no," she admits.

"You know none of this is your fault, don't you?" Caroline's other hand settles under her chin and turns Bonnie's face to look at her. Her blue eyes peer into Bonnie's, in useless compelling, in sweet coercion. "This is not your fault, Bonnie."

"Then why do I feel so guilty."

"Because you're Bonnie Bennett, and you think you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders." Caroline says in exasperation. "Newsflash: you don't."

Caroline grabs her shoulders, squeezing as if it would make Bonnie believe it. She sets well known Forbes determined eyes on her, like a teacher scolding a student, and Bonnie almost smiles. "We're going to save Jo, and then I'm dragging you and Elena out of this hellhole to get some much needed me-time." Caroline instructs and she punctuates her new resolution with a curl bouncing, certain nod.

Bonnie grins at her, but it drops, lips fast tugged down by the growing fear of what awaits them in the coming Gemini fight, yet another they will be unwilling pawns to be used in.

Tomorrow, she tell herself, her eyes lured to Kai's front door, her magic thrumming in askance, starving for a touch from him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Caroline asks.

Bonnie shakes her head and the hurt swathed in loss she tried to smother must have crawled its way back to the surface, torn a path out of the walls she has set around her heart, because Caroline offers a tight, understanding smile and takes her hand, leading her home, leaving bittersweet memories behind.

Midnight strikes and the moon paints her skin silver when Liv sends her the message.

_Mystic falls cemetery, 3 pm._

The words echo in her head when she falls into another fitful ominous sleep. The eye still devours her.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

Crisp bacon and fresh coffee tickle her nostrils. The sweet aromas of childhood breakfast exhume the rare memories that are untainted by blood.

Jo squints at the sky from the open window. The sun smiles bright, the wind strokes her, gentle, the grass and trees hum and sway in unison. It's all wrong. But it will have to do.

Her hands brush against the quilt laying heavy between her palms, its fibers rustling under her touch. She goes to drape it on the large bed of her room. Hopefully just a temporary one. Her eyes roam the bare wooden walls, minimum furniture in each corner of the room. She shivers when sound pierces through the makeshift, muffled quiet. Wails, seemingly faraway, are followed by furtive shudders from the walls. Jo decides she doesn't hear them, nor feel the light vibration escaping, rippling through the apartment.

She reflexively cups her protruding belly, and breathes in power she thought she'd never feel again. The double signature of the magic calms her nerves. She's still loathe to wonder what she would have done had one been like Kai. Well, she knows what she would have done. She is a doctor, she knows how to proceed.

With a sigh, Jo throws a last glance outside and heads out of her room, dragging her swollen feet through a long corridor, guided by sweet smells that make her mouth water. It isn't long before she steps into the kitchen.

"I see that you've been keeping yourself busy," Jo says and sidles toward the island where a plate of eggs benedict, bacon sweetened with honey and raspberry pancakes lures her forward and a mug of freshly brewed coffee stands inviting. Joshua chuckles, his back to her as he washes the dishes while Jo takes her place at the island, not waiting to wolf on the breakfast her father prepared.

Joshua dries his hand and hangs the towel on its intended rack. He picks a glass and retrieves a jug of orange juice from the fridge to his right. He pours a glass of juice, placing it in front of Jo who nods in thanks, savoring her food. When he's finished he sits across from her, the wooden furniture as referee between them, and watches her daughter eat her breakfast.

The unnatural, manufactured silence grates and Jo ponders on how Kai survived 18 years with it. Although the cries that find a way through the soundproof apartment don't seem like a better alternative. She welcomes them however. It makes her remember where she is, doesn't allow her to be too comfortable. Reminds her of her purpose.

"They'll be here tomorrow," Joshua speaks at long last when she pushes her plate, belly fuller, magic blanketing her and whispering sated sighs in her ears. Jo guzzles on her orange juice, and fixes her father with a cool look.

"I know," she says.

"Have you made a decision?"

Jo sets her glass on the island. "Like I told you before, my only priority is my children. Just make sure Kai doesn't die."

She knows these are not the words he wants to hear, his clenched jaw and slumped shoulders are telltales enough. But she made a decision 18 years ago that she will never go back against.

"You can't possibly think he can rule us," Joshua scoffs, shaking his head. "Not after everything he did."

"He merged. He changed. Not as much as we might have wanted but he changed."

"For now," Joshua corrects. "But he's a siphoner," his mouth twists, spitting the word out, like poison. "He's the first of them to ever merge. We don't know how it will go. What if his disgusting ability eats away the Luke part of his soul? The kindness he never had," and venom colors Joshua's voice cold blue.

"I know that," Jo reassures, taking another sip of orange juice. "But that's your problem, not mine."

"Yes, because you will leave at first sign of trouble," Joshua sneers.

Jo levels him with a sharp glare. "And yet it didn't stop you from almost killing me," she hisses, eyes fiery blue that make his anger deflate, stiff posture wilting.

Joshua releases a sigh, a hand rubbing his face. "I just – I can't have him destroy our family, the coven again. I don't want to go home and find bodies of my own butchered by a maniac. You don't know how it felt when I came back home and saw all the blood, when I saw –" His voice catches, hands balling into tight fists as he seemingly goes through a blood tainted trip on memory lane.

"Actually, I can. I was there. Now, you, just imagine how it felt having a knife in your stomach and hearing Sarah and Claire scream. Hearing the bat break Joey's head. Abandoning Brian to go save Luke and Liv," Jo trains blazing eyes on the man she still calls father despite everything. "I know all about suffering at the hands of Malachai. I know first-hand what he's capable of. No need to remind me."

She pushes the glass of orange juice sideways, its sweet lingering taste turning to bitter acid chafing her throat at the flash of blood and dead eyes in her mind. Familiar guilt rears back its ugly head and its sharp pointy teeth eat away at her insides, reopening wounds only shallowly patched together, unearthing old questions she still has no answer to.

What if she told her parents of Kai's tendencies then? Maybe they could have prevented the massacre. Maybe they would have locked him up way before; maybe her siblings would still be alive. Maybe he still would have butchered them like livestock.

Arrogance and resentment. Deadly combination that led her on the coward path. The presumption to think she would handle her twin, because only she could understand him resulted in blood that will never be washed off of her hands. And resentment toward a father who used her as pawn and bait, who dangled her in front of Kai as threat, who emotionally abused her to get him in line and abandoned her when he had no more use for her, when he knew she would never win.

Perhaps she never told for the same reasons Joshua refused to kill his son. Kai was their own, their blood, he would not harm his own, and as the Gemini drilled into them since infancy, anything that wasn't them was an enemy. Perhaps she never told for the same reasons she won't offer Joshua her loyalty. He's still her twin brother, he's half of her and she's half of him.

Jo rakes her hands through her hair, and grimaces at the knots her fingers get stuck into. She needs a shower. The silence is hard to ignore, like another being trapped with them. It trembles when another echo comes to sear her ears. A muffled lament sends goosebumps skittering on her arms.

God she hates this place. The place where Joshua kept her trapped for days as both punishment and incentive for Kai to just fucking heal. The cries were not smothered then, they dug their way into her skull until she was begging for them to stop. The place where a Gemini, whatever his wounds, whatever his age, cannot die. Although, the trade off to this seeming immortality made death look like sweet release.

Another shiver runs along her spine. "Of all the places you could have taken me to, you had to bring me here," she accuses, uncaring of the guilt coating her father's eyes, his features turning older by her simple words.

"It was the safest place for them," Joshua gestures toward her swollen abdomen. "I hoped the illusion outside could make it better."

"It still feels wrong," she says, eyes lured to the sun, still shining, still smiling, way too bright to be natural.

A tremor crashes like a wave through the walls.

"It feels like they are louder and angrier and that there are so many more of them," Jo trembles at another whisper brushing against her neck, begging for help.

Joshua frowns. "It's you and the twins. It awakens to potent magic."

Jo swallows painfully. She can just imagine what chaotic hullabaloo awaits them when Kai and Liv come.

"I'm surprised it still stands. I would have thought it disappeared by now."

Joshua shrugs. "You can thank Liv and Luke for that."

He chuckles, humorless, when Jo trains narrowed eyes on him. "Energy cannot be created or destroyed," he starts.

"It can only be changed from one form to another," Jo finishes. "Law of Conservation of energy. What does it have to do with this?"

"This prison was dying, we had less and less  _things_  to sustain it and I got old, so my magic stopped being enough."

"What happened then?"

Joshua smiles, so much like Kai, and Jo reminds herself that she's not a teenager anymore. He can't do anything to her.

"Well, two years ago, we sent Liv and Luke to take care of the Travelers once and for all. Bonnie Bennett and her vampire friends got tangled into that Travelers' mess. Luke almost died because of these vampires," Joshua spits, full of scorn. "Sometimes I wonder what Sheila was thinking. It's like she didn't raise that child properly," he huffs his disapproval and shakes his head. "One thing led to another and the other side collapsed."

Realization dawns on her. "So the magic transferred?" Joshua's faint upturn of his lips encourages her to follow that trail of thought. "The magic from the Other Side was not destroyed. It was just channeled here. To feed  _this_."

"Precisely," Joshua nods.

Jo bristles at the idea of how much worse this prison must have become. She lays a protective hand on her belly, wishing away the hours before her departure from this cell.

Joshua peers at her and she meets his worn out stare. "Extreme circumstances," he says, apologetic. He seems to ponder on his next words, although Jo already knows what they might entail. "Josette, I know you hate me, I have been a terrible father to you and – well – but you can't let Malachai destroy generations of Parkers' work, you can't let him burn our coven to the ground, the coven –"

"Comes first, always. I know. I hold the lives of thousands inside me. I know that, Dad."

Joshua nods. "So you know what you will do then."

Jo smiles and extends a hand to squeeze one of her father's in reassurance. Seemingly satisfied, although there is no mistaking the calculating glint barely concealed in his eyes, Joshua picks her plate and glass and goes to wash them in the sink.

Jo knows what to do. The coven came first, always. Duty is the death of freedom and duty has kept her locked inside her home, between her father and brother, inside her head for so long that the only thing Jo wants is to be free, at last.

_I know what to do,_  she thinks, when sweet magic purrs and swirls inside her, when the unnatural heat of a sun cocoons her.

_I will do what I always did._

She will survive.

* * *

**xxx**

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as of now the fic will be in an even longer hiatus than it already is. i need to write multiple chapters in advance to try to finish this ( i think there should only be 5 chapters left, tops)  
> so for the guys who are still interested, hang in there i guess, but the hiatus will be a long one so i totally get it if you abandon the fic.
> 
> thanks for reading and have a great week-end :)

**Author's Note:**

> all mistakes are mine


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